


Hollow Stories: Back to the Skies

by Ozmafia (orphan_account)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Genderfluid Character, LGBTQ Character, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Nonbinary Character, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, POV First Person, POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 20:49:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 68,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21308399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Ozmafia
Summary: Rye has lived his entire life working at part-time jobs for his no-good father after his mother had left him. Every day he would spend his hard-earned money of things such as booze and bills while his father lazed about and belittled him at every chance he got.Having lived this way for most of his life, Rye expected that it would never change; that is until a stranger appears at one of his part-time jobs and offers him a strange book for helping him out.Rye took the book and, at first, had no intentions of having anything to do with it. However, one night, when his day had been utterly ruined, the book began to glow, catching his attention.While he had no interest at first, his curiosity got the better of him and he wound up transporting into the world inside the book: a world of fantasy!Of course, at first, he was shocked and unsure of what to do but after finding friends who didn’t fit what society labeled “normal” and getting hit with the deadliest curse known to the fantasy, he slowly adapts to his new life while wondering if it was worth going back “home”.
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An original work of mine. Decided to just post all of it because... well, I have my reasons. It is finished and intended to be a series, but as for if it will be or not... well, who knows.
> 
> I wrote this a while back (a few years ago at least) and it's mostly unedited save for a few grammar fixes so don't expect too much.

_ Crash! _

_ The sounds of glass breaking sounded from downstairs as the screaming from my parents grew louder and louder. I covered my ears and curled into myself, willing the fear bubbling up in my stomach to go away. Another, what I assumed, plate hit the wall again. I flinched, the cracking resonating throughout the house. Tears pooled in my eyes, the fear only growing as I heard my mother yell at my dad for coming home drunk for the umpteenth time, how he smelled like “beer and perfume”. _

_ I closed my eyes, just wanting everything to be over. My small body trembled, fingers digging into the skin behind my ears as I pushed against them harder, wanting to not be able to hear anything anymore. My father yelled at my mother, telling her off with a vocabulary of words I didn’t know. I hiccupped, tears falling freely down my face, falling onto the sheets of my bed as I pulled my legs up to my chest, burying my head in my thighs. _

_ My parents continued to fight, their screams piercing my ears despite my attempts to drown them out. Soon, I heard a slap, and, after that, a physical altercation; my parents were physically fighting again. I bit my bottom lip, puncturing the skin when I heard what sounded like a body hit the wall, the tang of blood hitting my tongue. The house shook roughly as my parents continued their altercation, the foundation trembling as their bodies continued to slam against the walls. _

_ I closed my eyes, willing myself to go to sleep;  _ it’s fine _ , I told myself weakly,  _ I’ll go to sleep and, when I wake up, everything will be okay _ . I felt my conscious slip from me slowly, the yelling slowly fading away as my last thought ran through my head:  _ it’ll be okay _ . _

The loud blaring of an alarm made me bolt up from my bed, breath coming in short and ragged. Cold sweat trailed down my back as I placed a hand over my heart, feeling the organ pounding heavily against my ribs. I closed my eyes, trying to get the dream –  _ nightmare  _ – out of my head. My mind pounded, exhaustion flooding into my system as the adrenaline slowly faded away. I groaned and glanced at my alarm clock, my brain taking a moment to register the bright flashing numbers “five forty-five”.

I pursed my lips, frowning, wiping away the sweat dribbling from my chin and slowly crawling out of my makeshift bed. The sweat made my shirt cling to my back uncomfortably, my back feeling wet and gross. I shifted, trying to get the shirt to remove itself from its pasted spot, but to no avail. I simply sighed through my nose, pulling it off and tossing it in the basket next to the bed. Taking a quick glance at it, I noted that I should probably wash my clothes sometime soon.

My mind was still sluggish from sleep, and I began to wonder why I even woke up this early. I opened my drawer and pulled out the first shirt I saw, putting it on lazily. Then, I stared at my alarm clock like it had the answer to my question, a good two minutes going by before I suddenly remembered:  _ my new job!  _ I began to rush, taking a quick shower, quickly brushing my teeth, and throwing on my uniform before running out of the house, not bothering to be quiet like I usually would.

I glanced at my wrist, cursing silently when I noticed I didn’t put on my watch; oh well. I couldn’t afford to go back and get it now. I hurried into the car, jamming the keys into the ignition and rearing the old machine up before driving out. I was thankful my dad at least got an automatic, as I wasn’t sure my brain was at full functioning capacity for a stick at the moment. Keeping my eyes on the road, I thrummed my fingers against the steering wheel, still feeling the adrenaline rush of forgetting about my new job pulsing through my veins.

After around a ten-minute drive, I pulled into the convenience store I was now to be working at. I got out of the car, a loud creak following as the pressure lifted from it, pulling at my shirt slightly as I began to feel nervous. I wasn’t sure why, exactly, I was feeling nervous, as I juggled three other jobs on top of this one, but I suppose I’d never be good with dealing with people as I’m a bit shy. I took in a deep breath, calming my nerves, before pushing the back door open, taking a quick look around.

It was somewhat small and shabby, but that was to be expected of a no-name convenient store. I noted the dust and spiderwebs, my face scrunching up slightly at how dirty it was, but I didn’t say anything. I hurried inside, quietly closing the door behind me and jogged to the front. When I got there, I was met with a teenage girl with long, curly blonde hair, bored green eyes, and a pink bubble forming in front of her slacked mouth.

“Um…” I began, not sure how to introduce myself to my new coworker.

“Abigale.” She said shortly, giving me a quick one-over before shouldering to where I presumed my working spot would be, which was the other cashier. “Don’t bother me, and I won’t bother you.”

_ Well, at least that was a nicer way of saying “don’t bug me”,  _ I thought humorlessly as I gingerly scooted around her to my spot. I looked down at the cash register and cringed internally at how rusty and old it was; it was like looking at something straight out of the nineteen-hundreds. Once again, I didn’t comment on it, not wanting to get off on a bad foot at my new job, especially with someone else there. Not only would someone be able to watch on the cameras about my disdain for the cleanliness of the place, but having someone snitch about it to the boss? I couldn’t risk that.

I glanced at the clock behind me, silently thankful they had one since I forgot my watch and saw that it was now six o’clock. I sighed silently, took in another deep breath, ignoring the musty taste and smell of the place, and plastered on my customer service smile, mentally preparing myself for the day ahead.

It took around ten dull, nearly suffocating minutes of silence other than the sound of constant gum bubbles being popped before a customer came in. I forced my smile to stay, welcoming them as they came in, and watched as they strolled around. It looked to be a young lady in her early twenties, large bags under her hazel eyes as she picked up multiple energy drinks and walked over to the counter, placing them in front of Abigale.

Abigale glared at the woman, as if offended she went to her instead of me, but did her job anyway, checking her out and giving her a goodbye, even if it was curt. I said my goodbyes to her as well, wanting to be as polite as possible to those that came in, as it was almost a force of habit at this point. Another few minutes passed before someone else came in, a guy in his mid-forties, I believe. He staggered in, seemingly already drunk even though the day had just begun, his face tinged a soft red and his eyes blown wide.

I just welcomed him like I did the woman, silently watching as he nearly tripped on his own feet as he made his way over to the counter, staring at the varieties of gum on display. He glared at them, which I thought was odd but said nothing about, not wanting to possibly offend him. His eyes flicked between two kinds, seemingly unable to choose which one he wanted. After around three minutes of debating, and even after other customers came in, he snatched a gum brand I didn’t recognize and slammed it on the counter, a toothy smile on his lips.

“I’ll take this one!” He slurred, staring directly at me.

I simply smiled and nodded, reaching to take it and scan it. “Of course, sir. Anything else?”

He shook his head, looking pleased with my attitude. “Nah, I’m good.”

I nodded and gave him back the gum after scanning it. “That will be a dollar twenty-five.”

He pulled out his wallet and handed me the exact amount. I took it and placed it inside the register before turning back to him, smile still present on my face. “Thank you for your patronage.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He said, waving me off. “Say, you’re a good kid. Much better than Miss Petty over there.” He thrust his thumb at Abigale, who shot him a glare as she handed someone their bag.

I felt my smile strain, but simply replied, “Thank you, sir.”

He eyed me for a second before pulling something out of his jacket pocket, handing it to me. “Here, take this.”

I looked down to see an old book in his hand, a soft brown leathered covered with weird-looking symbols on it. I turned my gaze back up to him, placatingly putting my hands up. “I’m sorry sir, but I don’t think- “

“Think of it as a welcoming gift of sorts for your first day on the job.” He said, cutting me off and shoving the book into my hands. “I insist.”

Before I could return it to him, he sauntered out of the store, leaving me and most everyone else confused. I blinked and looked down at the book once again before glancing at Abigale. She just gave me a look before returning to play on her phone that she’d brought out during my conversation with the strange man.  _ Seems like she’ll be no help.  _ So, I simply placed the book to the side and continued doing my job, effectively ignoring the altercation for the rest of my time there.

When the clock hit noon, I was out, hurriedly grabbing the book at the last second as I rushed to my other jobs, keeping it in the car as I did them. After another collective ten hours of working, I staggered into the car, having finished wiping of the tables at the restaurant I worked at. My hands were sore, and my legs ached, but I was pleased with the results of the outcome from all my jobs, believing that, if I put in enough effort, I’d be rewarded for it. I weakly opened the car door and basically plopped on the worn seat, swinging my legs over the side and placing them on the pedals.

I leaned back, closing my eyes for a second, allowing myself to relax after a long day of working before opening them once more and closing the door, strapping the seatbelt on and pulling the keys out of my pocket and inserting them into the ignition for one final time today, pulling out of the parking lot and turning onto the road. I turned on the radio, letting the over-the-top voice personalities wash over me as they talked about nonsense before the next song came on. I felt my eyes droop and my grip on the steering wheel lessen before snapping myself back to attention, trying my hardest not to fall asleep on the road.

It took roughly twenty minutes for me to arrive home, gently pulling into the parking space for the car before stopping it and turning the engine off. I took off the seatbelt and stretched, wanting nothing more than to go to bed, but my eye caught the book that was sitting in the passenger seat. I looked over at it for a moment, the pale moonlight glistening off of it from the window. I grabbed it and slid out of the car, quietly shutting the door before trudging up to the front door of the house and going through the keys in my hand to find the one that unlocks it.

Once I did, I let myself in quietly, my instincts once again active for any sign of activity. I took a look around, no lights on and no signs of anyone being up. However, I couldn’t let my guard down; I tiptoed to the stairs only to stop once I heard the floorboards creaking underneath. I silently cursed myself for that and quickly looked around, now in full out panic mode. As if on cue, the lights in the living room turned on and the familiar booming sound of my father’s voice echoed throughout the house.

“Are you finally fucking home?” He yelled, his words heavily slurred from what I assume was another day of heavy drinking. I slowly turned to see him storming down the short hallway towards me, black eyes glaring directly into my soul. He slammed me against the wall, his hot breath on my face as he leaned in. “Where have you been all this time? Huh?”

“A-At work,” I whimpered, looking down at the floor to avoid making eye contact with him. “I work a-all day on Saturdays and Sundays…”

He huffed, his potent breath clogging my nostrils. “Don’t talk back to me, boy! Who’s the one that puts food on the table and gives you a damn roof over your head, huh?”

I flinched, pushing myself further against the wall. I didn’t say how it was me who was paying most of the bills and buying all the food, seeing as how he was an unemployed alcoholic who only got monthly money from the government due to his disability.

“And where’s my beer?” He seethed, bringing my face up harshly to look at him. “I’m fucking running out, and you  _ know  _ how I get when I don’t have any.”

_ Not really any different from when you  _ do  _ have some,  _ I thought hotly, but bit my tongue. Apparently, he could see the annoyance or something on my face because he punched me, sending me sprawling across the floor.

“Don’t look at me like that!” He screamed, kicking me in the stomach, causing me to dry heave. “I helped bring you into this world and God help me I can help bring you  _ out _ !”

Tears welled up in my eyes, my lungs trying to suck in air thanks to the amount that was literally kicked out of me. I glanced up at him once again, unable to stop myself from making a face at him. He didn’t seem to like that and didn’t hesitate to kick me once more, bile rising in my throat due to the force.

“What did I just say?” He growled, picking me up by my hair, the pain causing more tears to form in my eyes.

I grit my teeth, certain that a bruise was forming on my stomach if the amount of pain shooting from it was anything to go by. He slammed my head back down, and I felt my teeth smash hard into one another, but not enough for any of them to break or fall out, thankfully enough. I felt blood dribble onto my tongue and out my mouth, but that didn’t stop my dad from slamming his fist back into my cheek, effectively having the inside of it to cut itself on one of my teeth.

I tasted the foulness of iron running onto my taste buds, wanting to spit it out but I didn’t want another reason for him to beat me.

He grabbed me by the hair once again and crouched down so that we were looking face-to-face. His foul, hot breath hit my face as he began to speak once more, voice thick with promise and hate, “If you ever,  _ ever _ , think of talking back to me or giving me one of those dumbass looks again, you can be  _ certain _ that you won’t get away with just a bruised stomach.”

He tossed me on the floor, leaving me there as he lumbered back to the living room, turning off the lights and slumping onto the couch. I hissed quietly as I slowly got up, my stomach aching as I got to my feet and gingerly walked up the stairs and to the bathroom. I spit in the sink, grimacing at the sight of blood and spit slowly making its way down the walls of the sink. I tried as quickly as I could to wash it and myself up, careful with the bruise forming on my cheek thanks to the punching it received.

I made my way into my room, about to crash onto my bed until something caught my eye. Out of curiosity, I turned my head and saw the book the stranger gave me sitting on my desk, perfectly still against the darkness of the night. I was confused for a second before turning shocked. During the “talk” with my dad, the book had flown out of my hands and to the other side of the hall, slamming against the wall before falling to the floor. I had forgotten all about it thanks to the presence of the old man and he didn’t seem to notice it either.

_ How did it get here?  _ I wondered, shuffling closer to it cautiously. I didn’t pick it up, and I knew for certain that Dad wouldn’t have bothered bringing it up for me. My fingers twitched slightly as I looked down at the book, the symbols still as foreign and mysterious as they were when I first saw them. I stared at them for a moment, deciding if I should bother reading it or if I should just go to bed. At that thought, exhaustion hit me like a train and I staggered slightly.  _ Well, I guess that answers my question.  _ I lumbered over to my bed and fell on it, too exhausted to even change out of my clothes.

_ I have work at six tomorrow as well…  _ I thought numbly, clumsily reaching for my alarm clock and setting it to six before throwing the covers over me and drifting off to sleep, all thoughts about the day slowly fading away as I slipped into a dreamless sleep.

I had forgotten all about the book the next day, concentrating fully on my jobs and doing my best to keep up my happy façade. I felt my mask slipping from time to time, especially when it came to questions about the obvious bruise on my face, but I felt as if I managed to dissuade anyone from looking too deeply into it. Today was my first day back at school in around a month, that month something I didn’t feel like getting too detailed with, and I had to admit I was somewhat excited for it; it meant less time around my dad, and that’s something I was always grateful for.

I pulled on my shoes and snagged the keys from the hanger as I bolted out of the house, though trying to be as quiet as possible. I hopped into the car and drove out of my driveway, eager to go to school and… Well, I didn’t have any friends at school, but listening to people gossip when they thought no one was listening was fun. I smiled to myself slightly, turning on the radio and letting myself relax ever so slightly.

It was around a fifteen-minute drive before I reached the school building. I parked in the student parking lot, showing my pass to the police officer assigned there, and made my way inside. The scent of mold, body odor, and cheap perfumes hit my nose as soon as I opened the front door, making a face when it did.  _ I forgot how bad it smelt…  _ I frowned, scrunching my nose up.  _ Well, at least it smells better than my house.  _ With that in mind, I trudged forward, trying my best to avoid awkward contact with anyone, or just contact at all, as I made my way down the crowded halls.

I reached my room with not a moment to spare, the bell literally ringing as I stepped foot inside. I heaved a sigh of relief and maneuvered my way to my desk. I was placed right in the middle of the class, to my disdain and, well, it’s not like I could really do anything about it, but still. I shrugged my backpack off, setting it on the floor next to my feet and fished my notebook and pencil out before turning back to the front room.

Students slowly poured into their classrooms, obviously not caring if they were late or not. Even the teachers took their time getting to their rooms, looking as if they’d rather be anywhere but here. Not that I could really blame them; high schoolers suck. It was about another five minutes since the bell rung and half the class already being there before my teacher came. Mr. Bradly slowly walked through the door, his dull brown eyes swept across the room boredly as he tossed the student roster on his desk, jamming one of his hands in his pants pocket before turning to the board.

“Well, seems like there’s enough of you to start.” He said in a monotone voice, picking up the marker and beginning to write on the whiteboard. “So, today we’re going to be talking about-”

“Sir, aren’t you going to take attendance?” One of the students asked, raising her hand.

He glanced at her before shrugging. “Eh, does it matter?” Despite saying that, he turned back to his desk and picked up the roster, starting to go down the names. “Lana Alder.”

“Here.”

“Joshua Allman.”

“Here.”

“Rye Beckett.”

“Here.” I replied, making his gaze look up from the paper to me.

“I see. Finally decide to show up at school for once, huh?” He said dryly, making me wince slightly, but otherwise continued with his roll call. “Randy Bucket.”

“Here.”

It continued that way, some people coming in during the roll call and having to have Mr. Bradly go back to wherever their names were. I sat there quietly, fingers itching to do something, not used to not be at work for something or other. Mr. Bradly finished the roll call, tossing the paper back on to his desk and turning back to the whiteboard, marker still in hand, and continued writing.

“Anyway, as I was saying before, today we’re talking about the effects English immigration had on Native Americans.” He turned his head, looking around at the students before his gaze landed on the person sitting right in front of me. “Let’s start with when the English first came to America. Mr. Vice, can you tell me what year the English first arrived on American soil?”

“Uh…” The boy in front of me pondered the question for a few moments before shrugging. “I don’t know.”

Mr. Bradly frowned slightly at that, but moved on, going to one of the “smarter” students in the class. “Well, Miss Kelt, do you know?”

“1607.” She stated simply, clear blue eyes staring directly at the older male.

He nodded, expression smoothing out back to its usual neutral. “Good; you’re correct.” She huffed quietly, obviously displeased with his apparent skepticism, but didn’t say anything about it. “The first British colonization happened in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607- “

I slowly tuned his voice out, hand absently writing what he was saying without comprehending what he was saying. I zoned out, mind wandering about as I stared absentmindedly at my notebook, watching as words appeared on the paper as I wrote them with no conscious effort. The class continued like that, Mr. Bradly calling on someone occasionally to answer a question before going back to writing on the board.

My vision blurred and I hastily blinked multiple times to keep the sleep from my eyes. I didn’t realize I was that tired; that, or this class just happened to be that boring. Probably the latter. Why was I excited to come back again? Oh, yeah: time away from Dad. I felt my head dip before jolting back up, still feeling sleepy despite trying my hardest to fight against it. I took a quick glance at the clock on the wall, noting that there were ten minutes left to go.

_ Just have to deal with this for ten more minutes, and hopefully the other classes won’t be as boring.  _ I told myself, trying to pump myself up for the rest of the day. Hours passed, and just let me say it now: no. No, it didn’t get any better. Every class was just as boring as the last. I’d say lunch was the only upside, but, seeing as how I was never able to apply for any sort of support to help pay for it and didn’t want to chance seeing my father in the living room so I didn’t make myself anything, it wasn’t much better. In fact, it only made me even more hungry than I was when it started, so it was worse than the classes.

When school ended, I was finally able to go home and sneak something to eat when I found my dad asleep on the couch. I slumped down on the only chair in my room, taking a bite out of an apple I’d brought with me. My thoughts buzzed around incomprehensibly, never staying on one topic for too long.  _ I have to go back to my jobs tomorrow; I only took a day off so that I could at least attempt to get back into their schedule. We’re running out of food, so I have to go shopping soon. Does Dad have enough beer? I bought quite a bit on Sunday… _

I finished off the apple, glancing at the other few things I brought up to snack on. A few candies and another apple… I lost my appetite and just decided to go to bed, throwing the core in my hand into the trashcan before falling onto my bed, once again forgoing changing clothes in favor of sleep. What I didn’t notice, as my eyes slowly closed, and sleep slowly took my conscious, was the faint glow emitting from the book on my desk, the glow lasting for a few moments before fading, leaving the room in darkness once more.


	2. Chapter 2

I stood at the counter, listening patiently to a customer talking my ear off about her son and his soccer game he had the other day. My smile thinned and became more forced the more and more she went on, talking about something I couldn’t bring myself to care about.

“He’s the goalie, and he’s such a good one, too!” She gushed, scrolling through her phone to show me yet another picture. “He was able to block so many shots; I’m so proud of him!”

“Ma’am, there are people waiting…” I nearly pleaded, just wanting to her to stop with her waterfall of talking.

She looked behind her to see a rather annoyed waiting line staring back at her. She gave them a sheepish smile before turning back to me, grabbing her bags that I’d packed around five minutes ago and giving me a quick bow. “Oh, I’m so sorry—I didn’t realize I was talking so much.” She apologized to everyone in the line and hurried out, the chime ringing when she opened the door, signaling her leave.

I inwardly sighed in relief, glad that whatever just happened was over. Abigale spared me a glance before going back to packaging items people bought in bags and ringing them up. I followed her lead, diving into my job with a more relaxed smile than before and an outwardly positive attitude to hopefully infect others and make their day just a little bit better. After the little thing with that one woman, my day went relatively normal; that is, until the man that had come on my first day on the job strolled back in, immediately recognizable on sight.

I didn’t really take in his appearance from last time, but there was a noticeable difference even I picked up on. His hair, which was a dark black, was combed neatly, something I recognized as being different from last time, as I vaguely remembered it looking like a bird’s nest. His pale green eyes weren’t as wide as they previously were, either, and he walked normally and in a straight line, no longer seeming inebriated.

He walked over to the coolers, pulled out a single can of beer and walked over to me, meeting my eyes with his. He blinked slowly before smiling softly, his action nearly missed due to his filled out connected beard and mustache. “Oh, it’s you. I’m glad to see you again.”

I smiled back at him reflectively, giving him a small nod. “It’s a pleasure seeing you again, sir. Is this all for today?”

He chuckled, pushing the can my way so I could scan it. “Indeed. I’ve decided to cut down on the drinking, but I can’t help getting at least one every now and again.”

I took the can and scanned it, his gaze tracking my every movement. “I see. I’m glad to hear that.”

“That makes two of us.” He replied, taking the can when I offered it back to him. “So, have you read the book I gave you?”

I was slightly shocked at his question, honestly having forgotten all about that book. “I’m afraid not; I haven’t had the time to do so.”

He simply nodded, not seeming offended by my answer. “I see. Well, I hope you get the chance soon; it’s quite the good book, and I feel like it may help you in some way.” He pulled out a ten-dollar bill and handed it to me, turning and leaving. “Keep the change.”

“Wait, but sir—” I didn’t even get to finish my sentence before he left, leaving me even more confused than ever before.

“You attract the weirdest customers.” Abigale said, making me jump.

I turned to her and gave her a small smile. “Yeah, I suppose I do.” I glanced back at the store doors, wondering what in the world that was all about. However, when another customer came in and I welcomed them with my normal upbeat welcome, I slowly forgot all about the man once again, his words taking a back seat in my mind.

“My food is fucking cold! How in the world did you not notice this?”

“I’m so sorry, sir, I’ll see to it that you get a new plate right away.”

I quickly picked up the man’s plate before rushing back to the kitchen, telling the staff that I needed another plate of pasta before rushing back out to the floor and greeting another group of customers. It was a rather busy day at the restaurant I worked at, Jolly’s, and I was beginning to thin out to my wit’s end. I was working with only one other waitress tonight and she seemed more interested in chatting with her friends at the register than helping people to tables or taking orders, which left me to do basically all of it myself.

Not only that, but it seemed that, no matter what it was, the food I served was wrong in some way or another. It was cold, or burnt, or just plain wrong, leaving me wanting to rip my hair out in frustration. I wanted to cry in frustration and curse at the world but kept up my smile and served the customers to the best of my abilities. When I noticed group of men harassing a table of girls next to them, I felt exhaustion rear its ugly head back up, sinking into my bones.

“Hey, pretty ladies, how about you have a drink we us? It’ll be on me.” One of the men purred, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

One of the girls, a pretty blonde, just scoffed at him, giving him a cold glare. “Why would we ever want to hang out with you?”

The man snarled at that, giving her a glare of his own. “Hah? What did you say, bitch?”

In all honesty, it still surprised me on how fast a guy’s attitude can change based on the answer their object of interest gave. I chewed on the inside of my cheeks, forcing myself to keep the smile on my lips as I walked over to them, preparing to calm them down.

“Sir, please calm down—you are troubling the other customers.” I said as politely as I could, gesturing to the tables surrounding them.

He turned his glare to me and hissed at me, “Fuck if I care about them!”

“Sir, if you don’t calm down, I’m going to have to escort you out of the building.”

“Leave him alone! It’s that bitch’s fault for being a fucking prick!” His friend snapped, slamming his fist down on the table, the tableware and glass cups shaking and clanging together.

“I understand, sir,” I told him, still trying to be polite, “however, that is no reason to start yelling and disturbing the other patrons. She does have the option to decline your offer.”

“Shut the fuck up!” The first man barked, pushing himself up and stomping over to me, raising his fist and slamming it across my face.

I was sent to the ground, falling on to the floor gracelessly. I heard multiple gasps and soon chaos erupted, insults being thrown around and screaming bouncing off the walls. My coworkers were quick to call the police, one of them rushing over to me and helping me to my feet. I could taste the familiar tang of blood on my tongue and sighed quietly at how pitiful it was that I was used to things like this.

“Thank you.” I said to the girl who helped me up.

She gave me a tentative smile and hurried back to the register. I ducked out of the way of the massive fights going on, knowing fully well that I wouldn’t be able to do anything about them now. It took around twenty minutes for the police to arrive – how surprising – and another ten to subdue the ones who started it. They questioned the others and I about it before placing the offending men in the back seats of a few of the cars and driving off.

I watched with a blank expression, careful not to let any of what I was thinking allow to slip onto my face. It was decided that they’d close early, one of the others having called the owner to tell them about what happened, and we were all allowed to go home early. I changed and left quickly, not wanting to be around for any more pitiful stares and glances. I did enough of that for myself, thanks.

I practically threw myself in my car and drove home in silence, not bothering to turn on the radio this time. I pulled in to my driveway and parked; just as I was about to leave the car, I noticed the lights pouring out from the living room window and let out a loud sigh. Great, just great. As if I didn’t deal with enough bullshit already.  _ Oh well,  _ I thought defeatedly,  _ nothing I can do about it… Let’s just hope he’s in a better mood than usual. _

Closing the car door behind me, I dragged myself to the front door, taking my time looking for the right key and inserting it into the lock. Oh, how I really didn’t want to be here right now. I opened the door and was met with a bottle smashing into the wall right near my face. I paled, my eyes slowly trailing down to the glass pieces on the floor, heart pounding at how close that was to my face.

“Finally, you’re fucking home, you useless piece of shit!” He snarled, voice booming from the living room.

I carefully entered the house and quietly closed the door behind me, legs trembling slightly and now fearing for my life.

“Rye, get your useless ass in here!” He demanded, leaving no room for an argument.

I swallowed thickly, my mouth suddenly becoming dry as my feet hesitantly carried me down the hall to the messy room. Beer bottles, clothes, empty wrappers, empty bags, empty cans and magazines littered the living room, leaving little room to walk or even stand. My father sat on the lumpy couch on the other side of the room, leaning forward, white wife beater tank top stained and barely able to cover his beer belly. His black eyes bore into me as his unkempt brown hair sat atop his head.

He glared at me, mouth in a tight frown, a small stubble gracing his chin. I felt my throat tighten uncomfortably when I found a fairly safe spot to stand in front of him.

“Yes sir?” I all but squeaked, fear pulsing through my veins.

He continued to stare at me, making me more uncomfortable as each second passed. “You do know what today is, right?”

I was taken aback, completely caught off guard by his question. “Pardon?”

“You heard me boy!” He snapped, glaring harshly at me. Man, if looks could kill…

I flinched instinctively and rapidly began to think about what could possibly make this day special. It wasn’t any known holiday, I would’ve known about that thanks to a few of my shops special holiday plans. It couldn’t have been his birthday, either, since he was usually out with women on that day and didn’t come back until late afternoon the next day. My mind spun, and I couldn’t, for the life of me, think of what he meant. I took a quick glance around the room only for my eyes to land on a picture in a broken frame, one that had been there for years since Dad could never bother to get rid of it due to his laziness.

“Yours and Mom’s anniversary…?” I hesitantly asked, turning back to look at him.

His frown turned into a feral smile and I felt a shiver run down my back. “Indeed, it is… and you know what that means, right?”

I swallowed and nodded slightly, feeling my muscles tense. Whenever Mom and Dad’s anniversary came, or, more specifically, the anniversary of their divorce came, Dad would always use me as a punching bag to get rid of the built-up anger he’d collect throughout the day, which was tenfold on that day because of the meaning behind it. I closed my eyes, clenched my teeth, and braced myself for the inevitable.

“That’s a good boy,” he said mockingly, slowly getting up. “Now, be a good child and let me relax a bit, okay?”

He didn’t even bother letting me answer before railing a fist into my stomach. Tears pooled in my eyes, but I didn’t scream, nor did I try to get away, knowing that if I even  _ tried _ , I’d be given an even worse beating. I’d just have to deal with this. It would be fine… Just like what I had told myself the night Mom left.  _ It’ll be alright. _

It was the middle of the night when my dad finally felt that he had enough and collapsed onto the couch, falling into a peaceful slumber as soon as his head hit the pillow. I lay on the floor, a small puddle of blood and saliva pooling from my mouth and I could swear something was broken this time. Bruises and welts splayed on my skin, decorating the paleness with sickening colors. I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain digging in to me from every possible angle on every spot of my body.

I could feel my muscles scream in protest when I shakily got to my feet, feeling myself sway when I did so. Everything in my body told me not to move, but I didn’t want to be anywhere near that  _ man  _ at the moment, so I trudged over to the stairs and up into my room. I couldn’t make it to the bed, so I collapsed onto the chair, resting my upper body on the desk. Pain and exhaustion shot through my body, one of my eyes so swollen I couldn’t even open it. I breathed out through my nose heavily, not trusting my mouth at the moment because I didn’t want the possibility of blood to get on my desk.

My eyes began to feel heavy and I happily let sleep consume me.

  
  
  


I opened my eyes to see my parents watching over me, a soft look on their faces. I immediately knew it was a dream, since my mom was no longer around, and my dad hadn’t looked that happy and relaxed in a very, very long time. Though, despite knowing this was a dream, I allowed myself to relax and enjoy it, knowing it’d be the only solace I’d have for a while to come. Mom smiled lovingly down at me, to which I assumed I was in my child body in this dream, which would make sense. I smiled back at her happily, grabbing a hold of her hand and dragging her forward, towards the park they used to visit all the time together.

She giggled and followed, my father walking just behind us with a fond smile on his lips. I pestered my mom about the picnic blanket, bugging her to hurry, her answer being taking her time to mess with me. We all helped set up the picnic, settling underneath our favorite tree. I talked animatedly about whatever happened at school that day, bread crumbs stuck to the corners of my lips as I chewed on a sandwich slice, causing my mother to scold me about my manners.

Dad just laughed at my antics, making me smile in return. Mom sighed but smiled as well, a fond exasperation in her beautiful blue eyes. After a few minutes of talking, we sat in silence, just enjoying one another’s company. I watched as the soft winds ruffled Mom’s curly brownish-black hair, as Dad pecked her cheeks teasingly, whispering sweet nothings into her ears. I watched as her eyes lit up when she laughed, her dimples appearing every time she smiled.

I smiled, happiness bubbling up inside me; everything was fine. The sun was beginning to set when we finished, packing everything up and heading home. I listened intently as my parents joked around, determined to tell the best worst pick-up line they could think of. I watched as my mom pushed Dad playfully at something he said, laughing as she did so. I smiled, throwing in my own opinion occasionally. Everything was fine.

We got home, all tired and worn out, but still smiling. We went to bed that night happy and satisfied.  _ Everything was fine. _

However, that didn’t last forever. Dad soon began to come home from work later and later, my mother pacing the kitchen worriedly, face contorted in concern. I sat on the couch, letting the obnoxious voices of the cartoon characters enter one ear and out the other, more concerned with my mom than anything else. She would give me a strained smile and say “everything was fine” when I asked, so I stopped asking. That kind of smile didn’t belong on her face.

This particular day was one I remembered very well; it was the first time Dad came home with weird scents and smells clinging to him, something my childish mind couldn’t comprehend and didn’t understand. However, my mom did. She tried to coax an answer out of him at first, keeping her voice level and calm, as if trying to convince herself that what she was smelling was just a misunderstanding and her mind playing tricks on her. I watched as my father grew angry at her questioning, voice raising higher and higher with each one until he was full-on shouting.

I whimpered at the sound, shrinking into the couch to make myself seem as small as possible. Mom challenged him with her own, her shrills yells just as piercing as his. They soon began a yelling match, and all I could do was sit there, willing the sounds on the television to drown out what I was hearing as tears filled my eyes. I curled up into a ball, flinching at every stomp, every fist hitting the wall in frustration.

They continued like that for what seemed like hours but could only have been thirty minutes at the most before Mom screamed at him one last time, grabbed my arm, and dragged me to my room. I started at her, confused and scared, and she gave me a weak smile.

“Sorry about that, sweetheart.” She whispered, laying me down on my bed, running a hand through my hair. She then began to try and soothe me, whispering out promises that would turn out empty, but were what I truly believed at the time, “Mommy and Daddy are just having a rough time right now. But, we’ll make up soon enough and then we’ll all go out for a picnic again sometime, okay? Maybe we can even go see Mami and Papi during summer break.”

I brightened at the mention of my grandparents, excited to see them because it had been a few years since I had and, from what I remembered, they were very kind. She chuckled, placing a soft kiss on my forehead and ran her lithe fingers through my messy hair once more before backing away, a loving, motherly smile on her lips.

“Good night, sweetheart. Sweet dreams,” she whispered quietly and turned away, lightly making her way out of my room and slowly closed the door after flicking the lights off.

I smiled to myself, snuggling into my covers, closing my eyes and allowing myself to drift off into sleep, believing the words my mother spoke.  _ Everything will be fine. _

As it turned out, no: everything was not alright. I was in my room, forced there by my mother, listening to the screams of my parents on the floor below, their voices piercing right through my heart with each yell, each scream. It had become a normal occurrence in my house at this point, to have my mom push me into my room whenever my dad came home and going to confront him herself. Usually, it was just them screaming and cursing at each other, but it had soon escalated to physical confrontations during their last few fights.

I flinched when I heard glass smashing into the walls, the gut-wrenching screams of my mother as she cursed at my father, demanding to know why he was doing what he was doing, practically pleading to know what it was she’d done wrong. At the time, I didn’t understand why she would ask that, her voice wracked with sobs.  _ What does she mean ‘what did I do wrong’? Momma didn’t do anything wrong… Momma’s never done anything wrong. _

My dad never answered her, continuing to slur at her, his words near incomprehensible most of the time due the amount of alcohol he’d consume before coming home. Mom was at her wit’s end, but she always smiled for me, always tried to make sure I was alright before even worrying about herself. They went to bed, their fight still unresolved, but that was normal as well. Mom came up to check on me like she normally did after their fights, tucking me into bed before telling me that everything would be okay.

I learned to take her words with a grain of salt, knowing that she was trying to convince herself just as much, or even more so, as she was trying to convince me. I never faulted her, though; it was never Mom’s fault. Even at such a young age, I understood that I couldn’t tell anyone about this situation, lest I would be putting Mom in trouble. I couldn’t do that to her, so I kept my mouth shut, never telling a soul about what was going on at my house.

It didn’t take long for Mom to start sporting bruises and cuts after her fights with Dad, something I was forced to turn a blind eye to because of her insisting and pleading of not doing anything or telling anyone about it. I soon began to resent my dad for how he was treating Mom, how he had no qualms harming her and making her life as miserable as possible. The only reason I was spared was because Mom always forced me into my room every time he came home, always keeping him occupied with their fights and screaming.

I just wanted it all to end.

Little did I know that my wish would come true.

It had been during my last year of elementary when Mom suddenly vanished, nowhere to be seen. She left nothing behind, no note, no call, no goodbye; it was as if she was never here in the first place. I was beyond worried, afraid that she’d been hurt or was forced out or, worst of all,  _ killed.  _ I found out later from my dad that she had divorced him and left the house, moving in with her parents. I was hurt and shocked, to say the least. Why would she leave without me? Did I do something wrong?

_ I’m sorry,  _ I silently pleaded as I stared at the front door in blatant shock, tears falling freely from my eyes.  _ I’ll be a good boy, I promise, so please,  _ come back.  _ I don’t want to be here alone—I’ll be good, so please, please, please…  _ I didn’t know what happened, I didn’t know what I did, but there was one thing I knew for certain after years of silently pleading and begging to the Gods above: Mom was gone, and she was never coming back. I cried myself to sleep that night, sporting the bruises and welts my mom normally would have if she were still here. My eyes flickered to one bruise on my arm as my eyes closed, heavy with sleep and exhaustion for crying so much, a thought crossing my mind before blacking out:  _ at least she doesn’t have to hurt anymore. _

  
  
  


I awoke with a start, looking around wildly, the familiar uncomfortableness of sweat clinging to my body. I blinked, feeling a few tears fall from my eyelashes and groaned quietly.  _ I must have had a sad dream,  _ I thought to myself, not remembering what, exactly, that dream was. If it were any other day, I might have thought a bit on it, trying to figure out what kind of dream I could possibly have to make me cry, but today I just brushed it off, deciding it wasn’t worth it.

Instead, I got up, stretched out the soreness of my muscles and began my daily routine as normal. As I was leaving, I missed the warm glow of the brown book on my desk, the leathered item shifting slightly on its own before the glow faded and the symbols slowly changed and morphed into words, the leather convulsing and changing as well. When I closed the door, the book was completely different, sitting idly as the warm morning sunlight coated it softly, beautiful colors gleaming off it.


	3. Chapter 3

“It’s a pleasure meeting you again.”

I looked over from the customer I had just helped to see the man from before, the recognizable pale green eyes staring at me as he moved forward after the lady in front of him left, a small smile on his lips.

“It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you.” He said, placing a few bags of chips and a can of beer in front of me.

I smiled politely at his words. “Indeed, it has.” He was necessarily wrong, per say; it’s been nearly half a year since they’ve seen each other after their last encounter. How I remembered him even now was beyond me, but I guess there was just something about him that stuck with me.

He spoke as I scanned his items, watching my movements as hawk-like as the first time he did all those months ago. “Well, pardon if this is intrusive or annoying, but have you read the book I gave you yet?”

I placed his items in a bag, appearing nonplussed by his words but was inwardly taken aback by the question. I was aware that I had the same reaction as before, at that time showing it outwardly, but I couldn’t stop myself from being surprised by his second asking. Once again, I had all but forgotten about that book, being too busy working and attending school, which left me drained daily, so I simply didn’t have the time or even the mental capacity to remember to read it.

“I’m afraid not, sir.” I told him, handing him the bag while ringing him up.

He stared at me more a moment, his eyes staring directly into mine before he handed me a ten-dollar bill. “I highly suggest you read it; it might do you some good.” I placed the bill into the register, about to hand him back his change before he shook his head. “Keep the change, and, please, take some time to read that book. I promise it will do you some good.”

_ And how would it do that?  _ I thought bitterly, my smile becoming more forced at his words.  _ Would it fix my dad’s alcoholism and domestic violence? I don’t think so.  _ I said nothing, however, keeping a smile on my face and my mouth shut as to not say anything I would most likely regret. He left, leaving me in a sour mood the rest of the day.

When I got home, I tossed myself on to my bed after a quick shower, sighing into my pillow, thanking whatever deity there was out there that my dad had gone out drinking with his friends tonight and wouldn’t be home until tomorrow.  _ At least now I can go without being in pain for one day.  _ I turned on to my back, staring at my ceiling blankly. I did that for about five minutes before my eyes traveled over to my desk, where the book was.

I sat up in shock when I noticed that the brown-leathered book was nowhere to be seen, replaced instead by a pure white hard-covered book, deep black words inked on to it reading “ _ Hollow Stories _ ”. Confusion swept over me as I swung my legs off my bed and pushed myself up, walking over to the mahogany desk. I hesitantly picked the book up, examining it. It was smooth to the touch, cool and pristine, a complete one-eighty from the rough leather from what was previously there.

I frowned, wondering where this came from and where the other one could have possibly gone. I know for certain that I didn’t move it, nor did I ever get the one I was currently holding. Dad wouldn’t have done it, as he never came in to my room without reason, or at all, really. That, and he didn’t really care for books or getting me anything, so those options were out. I didn’t have any friends, and my father’s friends never came up stairs, so those were off the table as well.

I sat back down on my bed, mulling over the possibilities only to come up empty with each and every one.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” I sighed, exasperated, rubbing the bridge of my nose between my index finger and thumb gently, practically glaring at the book. “I know I didn’t buy this, and I know that no one else could have possibly been in here to give it to me.”

After a few more moments of debating, I threw up my arms in defeat, tossing the book back on to the desk. “Whatever. I’ll deal with it later.”

I crawled under my covers and promptly fell asleep, forcing the thoughts on the book out of my mind.

The next day was complete and utter  _ hell.  _ First, I had woken up late, forgetting to set my alarm the previous night. Second, I had scheduled my first job during school hours, so I had to call them and tell them I couldn’t go in to word today. After that I wound up missing my first class because my car wouldn’t start, and I had to spend ten minutes messing with it to fix it. Then, at my other jobs I continuously messed up no matter what I did, getting scolded by my bosses and peers constantly.

When I came home, my dad had come home earlier than I thought and was seemingly in a bad mood for whatever reason, so I trudged up the stairs with a bruised, nearly broken, nose and many more just sprinkling my body. I want to scream, to cry, to break something,  _ anything _ , in a vain attempt to feel even slightly better, but I knew better than to do that, especially since my dad was home. So, instead, I fell on to my bed unceremoniously, wincing as I was uncomfortably prodded in bruised places when I did so.

I was bone-tired and just completely, utterly, wholeheartedly done with life. My eyes traveled to the wall on the other side of my room, the wall that separated me from the upstairs bathroom.  _ Maybe… Maybe I can just…  _ I thought, slowly reaching my hand out to grasp onto something that wasn’t there. Just then, something glowed, dragging my attention from my slowly degenerating thoughts to my desk.

On my desk sat the same white book from before, but, this time, it was glowing ethereally, a beautiful collage of colors shining just above it. I blinked, convinced I had somehow fallen asleep but, nope, the book was still there, still glowing beautifully.  _ Maybe I am asleep.  _ I thought to myself as I reluctantly peeled myself from my bed and limped towards the book, hissing as I forgot my legs was currently in immense pain. I sat on my chair and scooted closer, staring down at the book.

It continued to glow, this night being a new moon so there was no possible way that its light was helping in any sort of way. I swallowed thickly, suddenly beginning to feel nervous as my hand hovered closer towards the pristine white cover.  _ Well, that guy did say that this book would help me,  _ I told myself, trying to convince myself that what I was doing was justified and not possibly the dumbest thing I could ever have even thought about doing.

I slowly picked the book up and placed it between both of my hands tenderly, as if it were something that would break at even the slightest of touch. My hands trembled as I gradually opened the book to the first page, my eyes scanning over the words on it.

_ This book belongs to . _

I stared at it blankly, not sure what to think.  _ Didn’t this belong to that guy who gave it to me?  _ I wondered,  _ why isn’t his name here?  _ I continued to stare it for a minute, a long pause spreading throughout the room before I opened a drawer on my desk and pulled out a pen, deciding to just go along with it. I carefully wrote my name in the blank space.

_ This book belongs to  _ _ Rye Beckett _ .

As soon as I finished writing, the page glowed and the ink sunk into the page, now looking like the other words on it and no longer of my own handwriting.  _ Okay, that was weird _ , I thought offhandedly, already chalking all of this up to a weird, realistic dream I was having and not the real world. I flipped the page, reading the words inked on to the smooth pages:

_ “In a world unknown to mankind, a world full of magic and monsters, entered a young man. He was not born in this world, instead brought into it by a magical book he had been gifted by a strange man one day.” _

_ _ I paused, the words surprising me.  _ That sounds like exactly what happened to me _ , that thought made my blood run cold.  _ No, no, no… It must just be coincidence.  _ I continued reading, despite the foreboding feeling welling up in my stomach.

_ “He was lost and confused, unaware of where he was and how exactly he had gotten there. He called out for something, anything, to answer, but his attempts only brought the echo of his voice. Feeling scared, he began to move through the forest he was sent to, wanting to find shelter before nightfall, feeling as if something terrible would happen if he did not do so.” _

_ _ I swallowed thickly, my mouth slowly becoming dry.

_ “As he walked through the forest, something happened.” _

_ _ “What happened?” I whispered, freaked out and feeling terrified.

_ “A loud noise sounded from nearby. His head shot towards the noise, paranoid and fearing for his life.” _

_ _ I leaned forward in my chair, becoming engrossed in what was happening.

_ “He stared in the direction for a moment before his gaze landed on a bush moving. The bush rustled for a moment before something stepped out, and what he saw made him scream.” _

_ _ “What was it?” I nearly demanded, keeping my voice small and quiet.

_ “What is was, though, has not been determined.” _

_ _ What? “What?”

_ “After all… The main character has not even been through this story yet.” _

_ _ I frowned, my tongue dry in my mouth as I spoke, “what are you talking about…?”

_ “This is your story. This is where your story begins, Rye Beckett.” _

Before my brain could fully comprehend what, exactly, the words said, a bright light engulfed the book, slowly enveloping me as well. I screamed, dropping the book like it had burned me, staring at my hands with wide eyes as the light ran up my hands and arms, wrapping my body fully. I felt a pull and soon, my entire body was being pulled into the book. I screamed, fear and panic clawing at my heart as I saw myself stretch towards the book despite my best efforts to fight it.

Slowly but surely, I was sucked into the book, the light fading from my room as the words disappeared from the page. After the previous words faded, new ones took their place, slowly forming in place of the old ones:

_ Chapter 1… _

I screamed and bolted up, panting and sucking in the breath. My mind reeled as I tried to figure out what had just happened to me.  _ I was reading the book that man gave me, and then…  _ As my mind processed what happened, my head snapped to look at where I was. To my utter horror, I was surrounded by trees and wildlife, deep shades of greens and browns everywhere the eye could see. I felt my mouth slacken and my blood run cold as I was now in the place the book had said I would wind up in.

_ I must still be dreaming _ , I thought, closing my eyes and laying back down,  _ I’m still in my room, on my bed, and this is all just a bad dream _ . I stayed like that for a while, the sounds of rustling leaves and soft blowing wind surrounding me, the dampness of the grass beneath me soaking into my clothes and skin. I frowned and bit my lips, willing myself to wake, but to no avail. In defeat, I sighed heavily and opened my eyes, sitting up and looking around.

I noticed beautiful, strangely-colored flowers a few feet away, beautiful oranges, blues and pinks melding together on their petals. My gaze continued to travel over the surrounding area, taking in everything they could. I noticed that some of the trees’ trunks weren’t the normal brown, but instead a deep blue or purple. The leaves also didn’t fit with the normal colors, for quite a few of the trees had blue, purple, and even white leaves growing from them, though those were harder to see as they were found on the much taller trees. At first glance, the forest was a normal forest, mostly consisting of the normal greens and browns one would expect, save for the weird flower or two, but if you looked closer, it was much more varied than that.

The soft winds ruffled my hair gently as I got up, still hesitant and worried about where I was.  _ Well, if the book is anything to go by, then I’m not on Earth _ , I thought, carefully beginning to walk forward,  _ it’s some place full of magic or whatever. It’s also supposedly dangerous to be out during the night, so I’d better find shelter, and quick.  _ I thought back to the last sentence I read before I was brought here, the thought of seeing something that made me scream in horror making me shiver.

_ Hopefully I find some place to stay before then. _

I pushed past branches, careful to avoid protruding roots, and made my way through the forest in a random direction. I had no idea where I was going, but I assumed that anywhere would be better than out in the open where something could come up and eat me. My trek was silent, save for what I assumed were some kind of bird calls in the distance, which was what I based my destination on. If there were indeed a bird of sorts, then they’d likely be in some place where I could either find a place to rest for the night or near the edge of the forest.

_ Or they could be man-eating beasts and kill me on sight.  _ I thought.  _ Or I could be wrong about all of those and wherever they are will be of no help to me whatsoever because I know nothing about birds and their possible locations in forests.  _ The latter was the most probable, followed closely by the option of them being able to consume me with a single bite, but I chose to focus on the positive. I’ll be eaten with a smile, dammit.

I observed the areas I passed with heightened caution, hypersensitive to every little noise and movement. Much to my surprise, the only things that quote on quote moved were the leaves, and that was only because the wind made them move. I didn’t see any bugs or any other wildlife other than plants. That worried me slightly, but I just considered myself lucky that I didn’t; I didn’t know what they could possibly do to me just yet.

I decided to take a small turn after walking forward for a while, my legs feeling tired and still no place to rest safely in sight. It was around midday when I had arrived if I was reading the position of the sun correctly, which was different from Earth, where it was already night. I heard a small rustle and paused.  _ That sounded different from anything else I’ve heard…  _ I thought, slowly turning my head towards the sound.

My gaze drifted over what seemed to be normal bushes, nothing out of the ordinary to note. However, one rustled, the sound a bit louder than before. I swallowed and turned my whole body towards it, fear slowly crawling its way back on to my skin.  _ Is this the part where I scream?  _ I questioned, remembering what the book had said about a situation similar to this. The bush rustled once more, and I prepared myself. Something slithered out from the leaves and I did, indeed, scream; whatever I was preparing for, it was not this.

I was met with a six-foot-tall caterpillar, big, black eyes staring directly at me. Its skin was a sickly greenish-yellow with pale red dots scattered everywhere, two large antennae protruding from its head. It had thousands of tiny legs running down each side of it, all of them moving individually, making it look like some sort of horror show. I stared at it, mouth hung open, and it stared back, both of us in an unspoken staring contest.

It was the one to move first, a large, grotesque mouth opening just under, what one would assume was, its chin, nearly taking up half of its underside as it reared up. It had thousands of small, sharpened teeth lining the inside, like a vortex of tiny blades, and I screamed in horror, turning around and running for my life. It followed, the ground shaking as it slithered just behind me, a feral scream erupting from it.

My heart pounded heavily against my ribs as my legs pumped with adrenaline, my body doing its best to get me away from whatever that abomination was. I heard trees snap and crash against the beast’s body, making me fear for my life even more.  _ Holy hell, what in the everloving fuck is that?  _ I nearly shouted, jumping over a rather large root poking from the ground, said root crunching easily under the caterpillar’s enormous weight. My breathing came in short and panicked, my mind screaming at me to move, move,  _ move _ .

I tried to zig zag while running, to at least disorientate the beast. It didn’t work, as the bug was too big to be bothered by my measly sidestepping. Sweat rolled down my chin heavily as I continued to run, the need to survive pulsing through my veins. I noticed something coming from above, so I ducked, feeling something smooth just barely graze over my arms before a loud screech blasted into my eardrums. I winced and turned to see a large bird, even bigger than the bug, sink its talons into the bug’s skin, flapping its bright orange-and-white wings before flying off, leaving me stunned.

I just laid there, dazed and confused, wonder what the hell just happened. Slowly, I sat up, panting from just having been running for my life mere moments ago.

“What even was that?” I murmured to myself, still thoroughly dumbstruck.

I got up, my legs shaky now that the adrenaline was slowly fading away and I looked around, fearful of what else could possibly show up and try to eat me.  _ I need to find shelter, and quick. _ I forced my legs onward, despite their protests, and set a goal to find a place to hide out for the night. I glanced up at the treetops, noting that the sun’s light was much darker than before, so it was most likely going to be night soon. I quickened my pace, not wanting to see what horrors awaited me if I stayed out here when night fell.

I pushed past more branches and was met with a beautiful lake. I stopped, staring at the crystal-clear water in awe, the liquid still and unmoving. Nothing swam in it, at least not from what I could see, and the air around it was cool and soothing, making me relax slowly. I looked around and noticed a small cave just behind it, a small smile spreading across my lips.  _ Guess the thing about lakes and caves is true.  _ I began to jog towards it only to be stopped when I heard the flapping of wings and felt the strong gush of wind hit me, nearly knocking me off my feet.

Steadying myself, I stopped and turned my head to whatever just nearly knocked me into the water only to see the strangest thing in my life. It was a cat, or, well, a creature with the head and body of a cat, but the legs looked like a griffin’s from urban legends, straps of leather-like skin wrapping around them and talons for its feet. Its tail was furless, looking more like a snake’s tail, bright blue scales shining beautifully. Its fur was a beautiful, pure white, untouched and unblemished. Not only that, but it had angel-esque wings protruding from its back, the feathers the same blinding white as its fur.

Its ear flicked slightly as it landed graciously on top of the water, resulting in a faint ripple atop the water’s surface. I stared at it in shock, unsure if whether I should run for it or wait it out. It turned its head towards me, piercing blue eyes staring in to my own. We stared at each other for a while, the only sound to be heard was the faint rustling of the leaves as the wind blew against them gently.

I wanted to run, to get away, but my body wouldn’t listen to me; it was as if I were under some sort of spell. I just stood there as it slowly made its way towards me, its feet making quiet splashes against the water’s surface. It stopped just in front of me, our faces merely inches apart. I stared at in in wide-eyed horror, knowing that this would be my last day alive. After contemplating my life, I closed my eyes, ready for it to open its mouth and just swallow me whole.

However, what I got was completely different than that; I felt a rough, yet slithery, tongue brush against my cheek. I cracked an eye open to see the creature’s snake-like tongue stick out of its mouth and brush against my cheek a few times, a quiet purr rumbling from its throat. I opened my eyes, confused. What in the world was it doing?  _ Is it just tasting me to see if I’ll taste good or not? _

It continued to lick me, its tongue brushing over my other cheek, nose, and even hair. Suddenly, I realized what it was doing: it was  _ bathing  _ me. I was shocked, to say the least, unable to do anything as it continued to “wash” me with its tongue.

“Um…” I began, deciding to try and talk to it, “I’m glad you’re trying to help, but I don’t think that what you’re doing is, uh, right for me?”

It stopped and tilted it head, tongue still stuck out from its mouth. I hated to admit it, but that was honestly an adorable sight.

“So, you aren’t going to… eat me, right?” I asked, my voice clipping slightly at the end.

It stared at me before purring again, this time slightly louder, nudging its head against my shoulder. I just realized how big this creature was; it was easily bigger than an elephant, and that all by itself was terrifying. I gulped, feeling my muscles tense at my sudden realization.

“Okay, cool, so no eating then. Well, then, I’ll just go, and you can go on your merry way, okay?”

I turned to leave but was stopped by a pull on my shirt. I looked over to see the beat biting my shirt to keep hold of it, though not roughly. It was almost… gentle, kind.

“Um, can I help you?” I asked hesitantly, wondering what it could possibly want.

It pulled at my shirt gently, its tail gesturing to the cave I had honestly forgotten about after its appearance.

I blinked, looking at the cave back to the creature. “Uh, do you want me to go in there?”

It let my go, let out a soft  _ mew  _ in what I assumed to be confirmation. I weighed my options, biting my bottom lip.  _ Well, it doesn’t seem like it wants to harm me… I  _ could  _ refuse, and risk being eaten out there in the wilderness in a forest I know nothing about, or I could go with it and have a risk of dying, but it’s essentially halved because of how nice it’s treating me.  _ I looked back at the beast’s face, staring in to those glowing blue eyes and decided to go with it.  _ Oh, what the hell, why not. At least if I die, it’ll be to something that looks adorable. _

With that, I let out a sigh and nodded, the creature seemingly preening at my decision before dashing off, stopping halfway on its descent to look back at me to make sure I was following. I smiled and let out a quiet chuckle, unable to deny that it was indeed quite cute, and slowly followed behind. It went through the cave entrance with a newly found vigor, myself stopping at the opening for a moment.

A deep darkness stared at me, nothing visible from the inside. I couldn’t see anything, and I doubt that, no matter how I long I stood here, I ever would. So, taking in a deep breath through my nose, I slowly entered the cave, accepting whatever fate that may come.


	4. Chapter 4

Again, whatever it was that I was expecting, it certainly wasn’t this. After passing through the darkness that enveloped the entrance and feeling something gently push at me, like I was passing through some sort of forcefield, a bright light blinded me for a second, making me blink a few times, I was met with one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Inside of the cave stood large, protruding crystals, deep reds and pinks, even a few light blues glowing gently in the dim light of the cave that came from who knows where.

Flowers littered the stone floor, deep blues and purples, much different from the brightness the forest offered. They, themselves, also glowed, an ethereal sight to behold, much to my surprise and awe. I looked around, seeing the crystals hanging from the ceilings and walls, a few on the ground as well, thick vines spreading across the walls as well, thorns coating the dark bluish-purple plant life. The air inside of the cave was pleasantly cool, a welcome to my heated skin from having ran in the humid temperate forest.

I sucked in some breath through my nose and was met with sweet scents, making me relax instantly. I looked around and saw the cat-esque creature from before perched on a crystal not too far from where I stood, pure blue eyes staring at me, not unkindly, I might add. I was highly curious about this place, and it seemed that the beast understood what I was saying, so I decided to ask it a few questions.

“Do you live here?” I asked, taking a seat on the ground just in front of it, glancing at the flowers next to me that were half my height when I stood and just looked ginormous when sitting.

It tapped the tip of its tail on the crystal to bring my attention back to it. A quiet purr sounded from its throat, to which I took as an affirmative.

“Oh, cool.” I said awkwardly, wondering if it was weird that I was even trying to talk to it in the first place. _I think “weird” was thrown out the window when I was literally sucked into a book and thrown into a world full of man-eating bugs_, I told myself, examining the area once more. “So, uh, what do you plan on doing with me?”

I looked back up at it and it stared at me momentarily, as if contemplating my words. Then, its tail drifted to the ground and began to glow gently before drawing something out. I stared in wonder as a sort of blue smoke was used to draw a crude stick figure of a person, then another of, what I could only assume to be, itself, standing right in front of me, then one last one of something I didn’t recognize. It stopped when it was finished and looked back at me, as if waiting for me to figure out what it was trying to say.

I stared at the childish drawing, brows furrowed in concentration as my brain reeled to try and figure out what the picture was depicting. _So, that person must be me_, I thought, eyes drifting over the drawing for the third time, _and the thing in front of me is it. At least, I think so_. I looked back up at the creature for a moment. _So, it’s standing in front of me, I got that. What’s that third thing? _I was practically glaring at the smoke, trying my hardest to piece together what was going on. _It looks like a weird worm_, that’s when it clicked. I have seen that thing before; it was the caterpillar that was chasing me from before.

_How does it know about that? _I questioned silently, glancing up at the beast, _or is that thing common around here? _I stared at the drawing for so long, contemplating what was going on all that time so hard that my head was actually beginning to hurt. _What is it trying to tell me? _I thought exasperatedly, wanting to rip out my hair in frustration, _it’s literally just standing in front of me, like it’s trying to _protect _me— _My head snapped up to look into those crystal blue eyes in shock, everything suddenly making sense.

“You… You want to _protect _me?”

A trill came from it, its tail swiping away the image as it purred happily. I felt like I was going insane; why would it want to protect me? _Me_, of all things?

“Why would you do that?” I asked, completely and utterly confused.

It just continued to purr and leaned forward, licking my nose with its rough tongue. My face scrunched up slightly reflectively. I began to feel tired, as if I were talking to a brick wall. _Well, it’s not like it can really talk…_

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. “Fine, whatever, do whatever you want. It’s much more preferred to being eaten, I guess.”

I could have sworn I saw a flicker of amusement in its eyes, but it was gone too fast for me to be sure. The beast gave my forehead a quick lick before pulling back, resting its chin on its forelegs. I bit my lip to repress another sigh, feeling tired just trying to communicate with the thing.

“So, how long am I gonna be here?” I asked, looking up at the ceiling of the cave, watching the crystals above glow dimly.

It trilled quietly, using its tail to draw a circle and an arrow pointing to another circle, this one with lines coming from it. I looked down at it and was grateful that this was something that was much easier to understand. “So, until the sun rises?”

It gave an affirmative purr, tail swishing to get rid of the smoke once more. I closed my eyes, sighing through my nose.  _ Okay, so I’m here until sunrise. That’s cool; I can handle that.  _ I leaned against the crystal behind me, shivering slightly at the coolness seeping into my skin. Silence enveloped the cave soon after, neither of us really making any sound other than our quiet breathing. I shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable, before remembering I was now covered in dirt and sweat.

I grimaced, eyes still closed as I frowned.  _ I really wish I could take a bath, but whatever—even if I could, I don’t have any change of clothes, so the point would be moot _ . I forced myself to relax, letting the knowledge that I wouldn’t be eaten by a six-foot bug while I slept calm my nerves. Before I knew it, I slowly drifted off to sleep, the sound of something purring quietly that last thing I heard as I blacked out.

Something wet pressed against my cheek, waking me up from my deep slumber. I blinked my eyes open, narrowing them at the multicolored lights in my peripheral that were much too close for comfort. I sat up slowly, grunting at the soreness in my muscles, noting the awkward position I fell asleep in. I stretched, wincing as the objection my body gave me through the shots of uncomfortable pain shooting through me as I did so.

I tried my best to ignore it, rubbing my shoulder with care in an attempt to help relax the discomfort I felt there. As I did that, I looked up and saw the cat-beast-thing staring down at me, its face a few inches away from my own. My heart leaped into my throat, a scream stuck in my throat as I jumped back, slamming my head against a crystal as I did so. I whimpered, brining my hands up to my head to rub the spot I hit. The creature stared down at me worriedly, tilting its head to the side slightly, one of its ears flicking faintly.

“Warn a guy next time,” I grumbled, getting up and began trying to stretch the soreness from my legs. Once I was satisfied enough, I stopped and looked around, rolling my shoulder slightly. “So, I guess it’s time for us to leave, huh?”

I was met with a quiet trill to my question and the beast began to leave, myself following close behind. We left the cave and I was met with a wave of heat and bright lights. I had to blink my eyes a few times to get used to the light difference, already having grown used to the dimness in the cave. Once I did, I noticed the creature kneeling at my feet, its wing laid out in front of me.

I stared at it for a moment. “Do you want to me get on you?”

It purred quietly, which I took as a yes. I carefully made my way on to its back, slightly hesitant in my actions. The fur was softer than anything I had ever felt before and was faintly cool to the touch as well. I grabbed onto the fur tightly with both hands, not wanting to fall as it began to lift itself up, gently flapping its wings. After a few flaps, it opened its wings to their full length, both easily longer than my entire body. It brought them up before slamming them back down, rocketing us into the sky almost instantly.

I let out a shrill scream, not prepared for that. I held myself close to its torso, eyes closed so I didn’t see how far we were from the ground. I felt a gentle rumble and heard the beast purring softly, as if coaxing me to open my eyes and look around.  _ Ah, fuck it, why not—might as well take a look at where I’m going to fall if I’m knocked off _ . I peeled my eyes open and hesitantly sat up before looking down and my breath was taken away by what I saw.

Beautiful shades of multiple colors, of all variations and shades, passed by down below. I could see mountaintops towering over treetops on the ground below, as well as meadows and openings full of running water, glistening and sparkling in the sun’s light. Beautiful creatures flew around thousands of feet below where we were, multiple more roaming around in the clearings from what I could see. Anything and everything below shown stunningly, as if they were dipped into a rainbow, yet still melded together perfectly.

“Wow…” I breathed out, awe-struck. I looked at the cat-thing’s face as it glanced back at me, purring in what I guessed was amusement.

I couldn’t help the smile forming on my lips as I looked back down, too entranced by the beauty of it all to be worried about the possibility of falling. We soared past clouds, the dampness cool on my skin as we flew through the white fluff. My smile widened the longer well flew, my heart soaring just as high as we were, and I let out a shout of happiness, the creature copying me by letting out a loud, adorable  _ meow _ . Excitement trilled in my veins, and I would gladly admit that this was the greatest moment in my life thus far.

We dipped down and were now on the same level as the creatures that were once below us, narrowly brushing past the mountains that were now so much closer. I laughed cheerfully as we passed bird-like creatures with strikingly bright colored wings, blues, yellows, oranges, and pinks flying by. Happiness thrummed in my bones and I couldn’t help but show it; the cat-esque creature seemed pleased, though, as it cheered along with me. I was beaming, and I could feel my cheeks beginning to hurt with how much I was smiling, but I honestly couldn’t help it; everything so just so amazing and wonderful and beautiful!

I felt the wind rush by, heard the hard flaps of the wings on either side of me, watched the colors of the treetops fly past. I was in too good a mood to bother wondering why I was able to keep my eyes open, despite the speed of which we were going, as it didn’t matter to me at that moment. The sound of a cat’s meow brought me out of my awed state and I looked down at the creature I was currently riding on. It flicked its tail forward, pointing towards something.

I looked at where it pointed and saw the beginnings of a town draw closer. I was honestly surprised that there was some sort of civilization here, though I knew I probably shouldn’t be. We dipped even further down before coming to a stop just outside the town’s entrance, one long flap of the beast’s wings stopping us and slowly lowering us to the ground. I waited until we landed and for the wings to lower before hopping down, now slightly unsteady on my feet thanks to the ride.

The creature purred at me, amused, lending its head for me to lean on to balance myself out. I waited until I stopped shaking before looking up and seeing where we were. Many people walked by, looking no different from how I looked, talking animatedly with each other, the town robust and lively. I looked around, now somewhat self-conscious about how I looked, thanks to the dirt and ruffled hair I sported.

A gentle nudge to my side caught my attention, my gaze flicking over to the beast by my side. It gave me a calm, gentle look, nudging me forward with its nose.

“Okay, okay!” I hissed quietly, nearly tripping thanks to its pushing. “I’ll go… Are you going to come with me?” I added as an afterthought, not really wanting to be on my own.

It gave me a reassuring purr and began to walk into the town. I smiled slightly and followed, making sure to stick closely to its side. Once we entered, I heard multiple gasps and people whispering in awe. I glanced around, confused, to see people pointing and gawking at the beast next to me. What was going on?  _ Is this thing really that special?  _ I wondered, taking a quick peek at the creature. It was certainly majestic, standing tall and proud, pure white coat glowing mystically in the sun’s warm glow.

Its blue tail swayed gently from side to side, strong talons making indents in the dirt as it walked. Pure blue eyes stared ahead piercingly, as if able to stare directly into one’s own soul. I began to feel insignificant next to such a strong, confident being, bringing in my shoulders to appear smaller. A gentle pat on my shoulder made me look up, blue eyes staring at me warmly. I examined its gaze, knowing that it was trying to tell me to relax, that everything was fine, but I couldn’t help but feel unworthy next to it.

The beast gave me a quick lick, more shocked gasps echoing from the ground, nudging its head against my forehead, a reassuring purr rumbling from its chest. I found myself relaxing unconsciously, letting myself ease up, a small smile forming on my lips. It purred louder and gave me another lick before turning around and continuing to walk off. I found myself chuckling and followed it, now much less tense than I was before. Everyone continued to stare and point at us, whispering amongst themselves, their words unable to reach my ears to make out what they were saying.

_ It’s fine,  _ I thought, ignoring them,  _ besides, anyone would be curious if they saw an elephant-sized cat with falcon legs, a snake tail, and wings walking through the streets with a hobo.  _ I paused for a second.  _ Did I just call myself a hobo?  _ I shook my head, sighing quietly.  _ Well, with how I look now, it’s not too far off.  _ I continued to follow the beast, letting it take me to wherever we were going. Since I had nothing else to do, I began to look around, curious to what the town looked like.

It was simple in design, dirt roads and wooden cabins everywhere, grass growing everywhere and a few flowers here and there. The shops were made of lumber as well, though marginally larger than the cabin houses. There were some vendors on the streets — could these even be considered streets? — with what seemed like blankets laid out, goods placed on top of them. I glanced down at a few we walked past, noting the oddly shaped fruits and strange items strewn about.

We finally stopped in front of a building much larger than any of the other ones, practically towering over them. I stared up at it, the roof narrowed to a sharp point, a deep golden brown, blending nicely with the paler brown walls. I glanced at the creature, which simply stared back at me. I gestured to the building, silently asking if I had to go in. It gave me a small nod, a comforting trill letting me know that it was alright.

I took in a deep breath and turned my gaze back to the door, which was the darkest of the browns on the building, and slowly walked up to it, the beast in tow. I grabbed the handle, the cold metal shocking me slightly, hesitating. The beast nudged my side gently, letting me know that it was right there with me. I nodded and let out a deep breath before turning the handle. Cool air rushed to greet me, and I poked my head inside cautiously. The inside was just as big as the outside suggested, multiple people walking around inside.

I hesitantly walked in, the creature following close behind, struggling slightly to get through the door. I bit back a laugh as I watched it push through the small opening, huffing once it did so, fur and feathers slightly ruffled. It quickly licked its fur and feathers back to their pristine appearance, giving me a betrayed look when I let out a chuckle at its trouble. I gave it an apologetic smile in return before looking back around. We appeared to be in an office building of sorts, a front desk a few feet from where we stood.

Not only that, but everyone had stopped what they were doing to gawk at our appearance, just as the people outside had. I frowned slightly, feeling somewhat annoyed at their attitudes; didn’t they know that it was rude to stare? The creature seemed nonchalant about the whole thing, appearing completely unbothered by everyone’s staring. I sighed and walked up to the front desk, needing to know where I was.

“Excuse me,” I said, bringing the person’s attention to me from the beast that had followed behind me. “Do you happen to know where we are?”

Wide green eyes stared at me in confusion before blinking a few times. “W-We’re in Alchai, sir.”

I frowned.  _ Well, that doesn’t really help me, now does it.  _ “Okay, so what is this building for?”

“Th-This is where you come to get your Class Card.” They stammered, pulling out a piece of paper from under the desk and showing it to me. “You sign here and wait for Sir Rennings to call you in to his office…” They glanced at the beast behind me, a nervous sweat beginning to form on the brow. “Y-You can also sign a-a form to have your com-companion become your familiar.”

I looked down at the paper they placed out. Not surprisingly, it was in a language I didn’t recognize, doubting it was even a language known on Earth.

I pursed my lips, “Uh, I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Where do I sign?”

They pointed to the line at the bottom of the page, handed me a quill and bottle of what I assumed to be ink and I signed the paper, but not without getting a few droplets of ink on the paper. They gave me another paper to sign, saying that it was so that I could make the creature by my side my familiar. Not really knowing what that meant, I signed it anyway, telling myself it was either go big or go home… Which I couldn’t do, so why not sign papers for something that could possibly kill you or sell your soul to Satan?

After I was done, I was told to take a seat and wait for my name to be called. I nodded, thanked them, and walked over to the nearest seat and sat down, the cat-creature settling down next to me. Everyone murmured to each other, their voices too soft for me to make out, a few coming and going as their names were called. I waited patiently for my name to be called, absentmindedly running my fingers through the beast’s fur as it rested its head on my lap, purring contently. It was around half an hour before my name was called, the time flying by as my thoughts were on autopilot.

The voice that called out to me was tired, dull, and very familiar, yet I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, “Rye Beckett.”

“That’s us.” I whispered to the beast and it trilled, removing its head from my lap, allowing me to get up.

I waited for it to get up as well before walking into the office I was called to, the creature following me calmly. I watched in silent amusement as it struggled once again to walk through the door before looking around the room. It was decent in size, though would become much smaller once my companion walked in. A few shelves were placed on the back wall and a simple desk sat in the middle.

I glanced at the person sitting behind the desk and did a double take.

“Ah, I’m glad you’ve finally arrived.” He said, a smile appearing on his thin lips.

It was the man that had given me the book in the first place. His hair was a bit shaggier in appearance, and his eyes had deep bags under them, but they were the recognizable black and pale green from before. I stared at him in silent shock, unable to comprehend what I was seeing, as the beast finally got through the door, sitting beside me, brushing its fur back in to order with its tongue.

“Please, take a seat.” He, Sir Rennings, my mind supplied, told me, gesturing towards the chair in front of the desk.

I did as he asked, practically flopping into the chair. He chuckled, pushing back a fair stray strands of hair from his face.

“I understand that you are surprised to see me,” he noted, a flair of honest amusement in his tone, “but do not worry—I am here to help.”

I simply nodded, unable to form words.

“I see you have brought quite the companion with you.” He stated, glancing at the beast next to me. “It is quite rare to see a faeyr, much less see one trotting around with a person.”

It growled quietly at him, placing its head in my lap, blue eyes glaring at him warningly. He raised his hands peacefully. “I do not mean it as a bad thing.” He looked at me, laughter gleaming in his tired eyes. “I see that it has taken quite a liking to you.”

“I don’t know why,” I admitted quietly, running my hand through its fur. “I mean, I literally just met it yesterday… Hell, I just  _ got  _ here yesterday.”

Sir Rennings hummed noncommittally at my response, eyeing the newly named Faeyr with a newfound interest. “I see… You must be special indeed.”

The faeyr chirruped in agreement, rubbing its head against my stomach lovingly. I couldn’t force down the smile that made its way onto my face, an inaudible chuckle escaping my lips.

“Well, I’m glad to see you two getting along so well already,” Sir Rennings said, bringing my attention back to him, “even those who have had a familiar for a long time don’t have the bond you two seem to possess.”

The faeyr puffed out its wings in pried, nibbling softly on my fingers on my other hand.

The man watching us chuckled good heartedly. “Well, since you’re here, I suppose you came to have your Class evaluated and form an official bond with your companion here?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I have nothing else to do.”

He smiled at my words and got up, walking over to me. “I suppose that’s true.” Glancing down at the faeyr, he continued, “Why don’t we start with making this one here your familiar?”

The beast chirped happily, bouncing up, shaking the room as it did so. Sir Rennings chortled at the creature’s antics. “I suppose she’s up for it.”

I let the words replay in my head for a moment before smartly asking, “She?”

He looked down at me and nodded. “Indeed. All faeyr are female, after all.”

I looked up at the faeyr, who stared back at me expectantly.  _ I would’ve never guessed…  _ She tilted her head to the side cutely, wide blue eyes looking me over. I smiled at her and got up at well, looking back at Sir Rennings. “So, Sir, how does this work, exactly…?”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing too hard,” he reassured me, going back to his desk and pulling out a rather large pen-like object. He came back over and handed it to me, the utensil heavy and thick in my hand. “Just write the name you wish to give the Faeyr and call her by it before placing your palm on her forehead.”

I nodded at his instructions, turning to look at my open palm. I let a few name ideas roll around in my head, trying to come up with what would suit her best. She just sat down and waited patiently, seeming in no rush despite her earlier excitement. I was internally grateful for that, as I was horrible with coming up with names for, well,  _ anything _ . I rolled the pen between my fingers, frying my brain for any good name ideas.  _ Kat? No, too obvious… Hannah?  _ I looked her over, frowning slightly,  _ no, it doesn’t fit her. What would be a good name for a faeyr? _

I could almost hear the gears turning in my head as I tried to think of any even somewhat decent names.  _ Human names don’t really fit her, but I don’t know what else I could call her. Cloud’s also too obvious, and Cotton is just weird… Dammit, think, Rye, think!  _ I began to tap the pen in my hand, still mulling over other possible ideas,  _ Jane? No, that  _ really  _ don’t fit her. God, why am I so bad at coming up with names? Lily, Olivia, Riley, Crystal… No, I don’t like any of those.  _ I ruffled my hair with my free hand, sighing irritably,  _ I might as well just name her Fae because screw being obvious and screw creative names. _

_ No, I can’t do that to her,  _ I thought defeatedly,  _ so, what name can I give her?  _ I pondered for a moment more before it came to me; I hurriedly wrote the name on my palm, writing the name too quickly to notice the sparkle of the green ink painted onto my skin. I smiled to myself, pleased with my decision.

“Christi.” I said proudly before placing my palm gently on the beast’s forehead.

She purred happily and the two of us were wrapped in soothing blue-and-white light, the thin strands light wisping around our legs and my outstretched arm. I watched in wonder as the ink slipped from my hand and floated in the air. It fused and melded together to form the words in the language of this world before floating gently onto the faeyr’s head, sinking into her fur, staining the one pure white black, the words embedded into her fur and skin.

The light faded, and we stood there, Cristi looking at me happily while I just stared back in silent surprise.

_ “We have finally become one.”  _ A voice whispered in my head, making me jump in surprise. I looked around frantically, trying to figure out where it was coming from.  _ “Calm down, child—it’s me, Christi.” _

I looked back at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. “Christi…?”

She preened, puffing out her chest.  _ “Since I have become your familiar, we are now able to communicate telepathically! It is because our souls are now one.” _

“Our souls are what now?” I questioned, my mind racing to catch up.

“When you complete the bond with a familiar, your souls are intertwined and become one.” Sir Rennings piped up, glancing between the two of us amusingly. “That light that surrounded you consisted of both of your souls, one color representing each of you. They fused together to become one, each of you both carrying half of your shared soul.”

I was rightfully shell shocked; I had no idea that was going to happen!

_ “I am glad to be of service.”  _ Christi purred, bumping her nose against mine.

_ Well, I did say go big or go home…  _ “Same, I guess.”

“Now, onto finding your class.” Sir Rennings continued, brushing past our bonding and reaching into his desk once more, pulling out a few cards before placing them on the desk, upside down. He then pulled out a few items and placed each in front of the cards, not seeming to put them in any particular order. “Now, please, take a seat.”

I sat on the chair once again, Christi laying down at my feet.

“Again, this is simple. I will ask you a few questions and then have you pick the object that resonates with you the most.” He told me, folding his hands on top of the desk. “Let’s start with the first one: You witness a fight between your best friend and a known bully. What would you do?”

I sat there, thinking about his question. “Well, I think I’d let someone know about it, preferably an adult, and then try to break it up peacefully. I’m not really much of a fighter so I wouldn’t really be any help with that, not that I’d want it to come to that in the first place. I’d also try to take as many hits as possible if the quote ‘bully’ still tried to fight. After all, if one of us were to get hurt, I’d much rather it be me.”

The older male nodded, writing something down on a piece of paper. When did he even get that out? “I see. Next question: You are invited to a party. Do you attend?”

“Only if I know the person throwing it or was invited by someone I know to tag along.” I said truthfully.

Another nod. “Alright. Next one: Are you generally forgetful and tend to forget things easily?”

I rolled my head to one side, thinking it over. “I’d say so, yeah—I mean, I can hardly remember my own birthday at times.”

Sir Rennings smiled politely, though his eyes shone with an unknown interest. “I see. Well then, here is your last question: You are face to face with a creature that has been known to cause harm and destruction, though for this particular one there has been no known cases against it. You are given the option to kill it or spare it. Which do you choose?”

I answered immediately, no hesitation in my voice whatsoever, “Spare it. After all, why would I kill something that wasn’t proven to be an actual threat?”

The other male hummed, writing something else onto the paper before nodding slightly. “I see. Alright, please choose whichever item resonates with you the most.” He said, gesturing to the items in front of me.

I looked down and saw five items in total, all of them plastic representations of what they were modeled after: an open book, a party hat, a pillow, a wand, and a heart. I glanced all of them over, raising my hand slowly before pointing the one I felt a pull towards. Sir Rennings glanced at what I chose and smiled, seemingly pleased with my answer. Writing one last thing down, he hovered both of his hands over the cards, closing his eyes, and emitting a light green glow from his body.

“After having heard your answers and object of choice, your class shall now be named.” He said, the energy pulsing faintly.

The glow wrapped around the card behind the plastic pillow and slowly lifted itself up. I stared at the back of the card as it slowly flipped over, revealing itself to me.


	5. Chapter 5

An ace.

That was the image inked into the middle of the card. I watched as it floated over to me and landed gently in my hand.

“As I suspected,” Sir Rennings stated, a crinkle in his eye, “you were the one we have been looking for.”

“What?” I asked, gingerly holding the card between my fingers.

“Do not worry about that for now.” He told me, breezing past his earlier statement. “Your class has been decided; you are in the Ace Class.”

He grabbed the other cards and items and sat down, beginning to put them away.

“What does that mean?” I questioned, watching him in suspicion. “What were the other ‘classes’?”

Sir Rennings glanced at me, smiling politely, “I suppose you would be curious. After all, you were not born of this world.” He set the card back down after putting the items away. “Alright, allow me to educate you. First, let us start with the Moon Class.”

He flipped one of the cards over, revealing a black crescent moon embedded onto the thin plastic-coated paper.

“To be a part of the Moon Class, you must express the need or desire to be alone.” He said, slowly pulling the card to himself. “Those in this class prefer to be alone and dislike being in crowded or populated areas. They tend to specialize in dark magic. Next is Star Class.”

He flipped another card over, revealing a black star on it.

“To qualify for this class, you must be shown to be abundantly cheerful and friendly, as well as a tendency to dive into something headfirst without thinking of the consequences.” He informed, placing the card on top of the moon one. “Those in this class are extremely friendly and outgoing, preferring to be around people than alone. They tend to specialize in light magic. Next is the Clover Class.”

Another card was flipped, revealing a large black clover symbol.

“For this class, you need to be calm and collected, keeping a level head despite the situation you’re in.” Sir Rennings stated, placing the card on top of the other two. “Those who inhabit the Clover Class calm and quiet, but do not mind being around crowds, though they prefer to listen to others than talk themselves and always think of every possible outcome for whatever situation they find themselves in. They specialize in what we call ‘holy’ magic, or what you would call ‘Earth’ magic. After them is the Cloud Class.”

The last card on the table was flipped over, revealing a black cloud printed on it.

“To be in this class, you must express that you’re one to go with the flow, not one to make decisions by yourself.” He said, placing the last card on top of the others. “Those in this class are kind, yet extremely spacey and somewhat ditzy. They specialize in wind magic. Lastly,” he paused, gaze flicking down to the card in my hand before returning to my eyes, “are those in the Ace Class.”

I swallowed, anticipation flowing in my veins.

“To qualify for this class, you must either exhibit none of the traits above,” he drawled, fingers thrumming on the desk, “or all of them. It is the rarest of the classes and is referred by the other classes as the ‘Outcasts’. They can pass through any of the classes’ specified areas and are able to use any magic the other classes possess as well as magic outside of them, such as fire and water. What they specialize in varies from person to person, as none of them specialized in the same kind.”

He paused, running his tongue over his lips. “There have only ever been four people in the Ace Class, well…” he glanced at me, smirking, “until you came along, that is.” He ran his hand through his hair, “To tell you the truth, not everyone qualifies to be in a Class, even if they show symptoms that would otherwise qualify them for it. What they lack is simple: magic. If they don’t have any magical power, then they are unable to qualify for a Class.”

“What? Then how do I qualify? I don’t have any magic!” I insisted, thrown off.

“Of course you do. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had a card choose you.” He said, ignoring the protests I uttered. “There was a reason I chose _you _to have the book, after all.”

“What?” I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Just what in the world was going on?

“Though, magic is usually the main reason people cannot qualify for a Class.” He continued, blatantly disregarding my apparent confusion. “I don’t have the time to go over everything right now, but I do believe that you will find out in due time. Now,” he got up briskly, startling me, “we have spent enough time dawdling. You have to prepare before leaving.”

“Leaving? Leaving where?” I asked, quickly following Sir Rennings as he walked out of his office, Christi at my heels.

“I’ll be leaving for a bit,” the man informed what I reckon were his staff as he passed by.

“Of course, sir.” They replied, bowing, letting him leave with not interference.

“Where are you going?” I nearly demanded, vexed and practically going into hysteria.

He didn’t bother to turn towards me when answering, passing by people who moved out of his way at sight of him, “Once someone if gifted their Class, they are immediately sent off to the island where they are to train and hone your skills; pardon me, madam,” he excused himself, nearly bumping into a woman carrying her child. “The instructors on the island are informed of someone entering their island as soon as a card has selected someone, so there’s no need to worry about that.”

“Still, this is too sudden, isn’t it?” I pleaded, struggling to keep up with him. “I mean, I don’t even have any extra clothing! Not only that, but where would I even stay there?”

“Worry not,” he assured, nodding at a man he passed by, “the island is well equipped for newcomers. They have made sure to have an abundance of the necessities and then some for any sudden visitations or newcomers.”

_Well, isn’t that awfully convenient, _I thought, rolling my eyes.

_“Do not worry,” _Christi whispered, a gleam in her eyes, _“I am sure everything will be alright.”_

I glanced at her before looking back at Sir Rennings, swallowing a sigh. _I hope you’re right… _We weaved our way through the crowds, most of the people stepping back once they say Sir Rennings, bowing as he passed by. I gnawed at my bottom lip, dying to ask why they did that, but decided against it; it’s not like he’d tell me conclusively, anyway. We continued our trek in silence, no one bothering to say anything, so I took to looking around.

I don’t know what I was looking for, since literally nothing changed from the few minutes I’ve been inside, but it was better than just staring at the back of Sir Rennings’ head for who knows how long. I watched as people bargained for better prices, a bit awe-struck since I’d only ever seen it in movies before. It was interesting to watch people try to talk the prices down or trade it for something else, some failing, some succeeding. I glanced down at some of the products the salespeople were selling, and my eye caught something that made me do a double take.

It was a replica of what appeared to be a dragon wing, carved from some sort of stone-like material, gems embedded into it masterfully. The color was a dulled dark grey, almost blackish in some parts, the outer parts that lined the wings containing the multicolored gems. Blues, greens, pinks, and oranges shone from the gems beautifully, making the antique even more majestic. _Are there dragons in this world? _I wondered, a bit curious.

_“What is a ‘dragon’?” _The sound of Christi’s voice caught me off guard, making me jump. I whirled around to look at her. She blinked, taken aback by my reaction. _“Wh-What’s wrong?”_

_Y-You can _read _my thoughts? _I asked.

She seemed slightly confused, worry alight in her eyes, _“Of course I can.”_

That made me stop in my tracks, embarrassment flooding to my face, burning my cheeks. She could read my thoughts all this time? Oh God, why didn’t she say so earlier? Is there way to turn this off? Wait, did she say that earlier? Even if she did, she could’ve been more specific! I began to feel myself panic, my thoughts in disarray and too jumbled for even me to understand.

_“Calm down,” _Christi told me soothingly, her voice calm, _“I did not mean to startle you. Since we are connected, and you are untrained, I am able to hear your thoughts. Once you are properly trained to keep our connection to a minimum at will, I will not be able to hear any thoughts you have unless you allow me to.”_

Well, this is going to be extremely awkward until I managed to do so, I decided. I began to wonder how I could filter my thoughts so that she wouldn’t be bombarded with a whole bunch of nonsense, but it’s easier said than done. After a few minutes debating the possibilities, I gave up, sending her a telepathic “I’m sorry” ahead of time for any future endeavor I might do. She seemed confused but just accepted it, not saying anything about my thoughts on how I could restrict what I sent her, which I was grateful for, because even I didn’t know why I thought of half the things I did.

In my newfound discovery—or in my ability to not be able to listen when people tell me things, either way—I decided to ask Christi some questions while we made our way around. _So, Christi… _She perked up when I called her, looking over at me, _I know I already asked this before, but since we’re able to, y’know, _properly _communicate, I thought I’d ask again: why’d you help me in the forest? In my opinion, there was nothing you could’ve possibly gained from it._

She stayed silent for a moment, mulling over the question before answering, _“There was something about you that drew me towards you. I cannot tell you what, but there was just a pull I felt once I laid eyes on you. When I looked into your eyes, I could tell you were a pure of heart, even if you weren’t completely innocent. There were obviously many mistakes showing in your soul, but I could understand that you did them with the best intention at heart._

_“Not only that,” _she continued, this time with a bit of mirth in her tone, _“but you appeared before me so small and meek, scared and afraid, unaware of the situation you had been placed in. How could I leave you alone like that?”_

_Wow, thanks, _I thought dryly, hearing her snicker in the back of my mind. _Speaking of being concerned about—shut up—_concerned _about being sucked into a new place, I literally forgot all about that until now… So, thanks for that, I’m glad to have my anxiety back._

_“Do not fret,” _she chuckled, trotting up to me, _“I will protect you, so you have no need to fear.”_

I pursed my lips, her words relaxing me more than I think she meant them to. _Thanks. Really, thank you. _She purred, butting her head against my shoulder, making me smile ever so lightly. _You know, I’ve always wanted a pet._

_“A pet?”_

_Yeah. It’s kind of like a familiar, but we don’t ‘bound’ ourselves together like you do. And none of our pets tower over us, and they’re a lot less… magical._

Christi remained silent for a second before her body began to shrink, becoming the size of a moderately sized dog. _“Is this suitable for you?”_

I blinked, stunned. _Oh, uh, yeah, that’s fine. _She purred, seemingly pleased with herself, so I just let her be; I never said I minded her original size, but she didn’t need to know that. We continued to chat amongst ourselves, enjoying our silent and private conversation, before I slammed into Sir Rennings’ back, grunting at the sudden stop.

“What was that for?” I asked, rubbing my nose, which got the most force of the hit.

“We’re here.” The man simply said, not delving into any further detail.

Before I could open my mouth to ask what that even meant, Christi butted her head against my leg, making me turn to her. “What is it—”

She pointed her tail forward, and my eyes followed. I looked over and saw the sea; golden sand just in front of our feet, crystal clear waters gently flowing over the small grains of rock. I noted that the water was a bluish-green and was still clearer than any ocean I’ve ever seen back on Earth. I doubted that, no matter what I saw and no matter how many times I’d see it or something similar, I’d ever get used to the beauty of this world.

“It’s beautiful…” I breathed, letting the sight soak in.

Sir Rennings chuckled, “I’m glad you like it, but I’m afraid we’re not here to sightsee. Come now.” He continued onward, not bothering to look back to see if I was following.

I was tempted to just ignore him, half out of spite and half because I wanted to look at the scenery a bit longer but decided to follow him. Who knows what would happen if I chose to be petty just because the guy ticked me off a bit. I felt the sand dip beneath my shoes and nearly tripped due to the sudden elevation drop; it wasn’t much, but just enough to throw me off. Christi steadied me, and I shot her a grateful smile before continuing. When I felt all eyes turn towards me, I was once again reminded that I was still a mess from the previous night.

_When am I going to be able to take a shower? _I thought forlornly, feeling embarrassed for the nth time today. Christi giggled at my predicament and I shot her a hurt look before stopping just in time before running into Sir Rennings again, who, once again, stopped suddenly, without warning. I huffed, getting fed up with his attitude, and was about to give him a piece of my mind before a loud voice cut me off.

“All aboard!” A cheery man called, waving a hand in the air wildly.

“This is where we part.” Sir Rennings said, patting me on the shoulder. “The yanmoo will carry you to your destination and a lady called Madam Heart will be waiting for you.”

“A who what where now?” What he said made literally no sense to me, but, as I expected, he didn’t answer and just walked off, leaving me on my own.

I glared at his back as he left before sighing and looking back at the other man. He stood in front of a beast floating in the ocean, the size of it much larger than even the T-Rex, its colors a deep purple, black lining the sides. It had eight flippers on the side I could see, so I guessed it had eight on the other side as well, a large black one protruding from its back. It reminded me of a whale, its tail even similar to once, but it had a fin on top and, when it lifted its large appendage up, showed to have one on the bottom as well.

_What would it even use those for? _I wondered, continuing to stare at it. There were a few people sat on top of it, none of them seeming to mind, chatting away as if this weren’t one of the weirdest things ever. I shook my head quickly, clearing that thought from my mind. _No, not weird; this is normal for them. I’m not in my own world, so this is normal._

“Young man!” A voice brought me back to reality and I looked over at the man in front of the ‘yanmoo’, as Sir Rennings had called. “Are you also going to Raiseir Island? Judging by that card in your hand, I sure would hope so!”

I blinked a few times before glancing down at my hands. True to his word, the card I was given was still between my fingers, the weight miniscule and unnoticeable. I flushed, “I, uh, yeah.”

He smiled at me kindly, waving me over. “Well, come on over then! We’re here to leave in a few minutes!”

I quickly nodded and hurried over to him. He showed me how to climb on after I just stood there, staring at it dumbly. When I thanked him, he just laughed it off, stating that not many rode on Yanmoos that much anyway, so he wasn’t bothered. I felt my cheeks heat up as I crawled on the back of the beast hesitantly, not sure where to sit. I glanced at everyone else on board, though there was really only three other people there besides me. Two of them were chatting away happily while the other sat a small way away from them, reading a book.

_Well, I don’t want to interrupt their conversation, and the other person reading probably wouldn’t appreciate me just going over there and bothering them… _With that in mind, I took an unoccupied stop a few feet away from the duo talking, trying to make myself comfortable. The skin was rougher than I expected, but not overly uncomfortable. Christi joined me soon after I sat down, curling up beside me. I smiled and pet her behind the ears, relaxing as she purred contently, resting her head on my lap.

“Oh my Arina,” a feminine voice gasped, making me look over to the duo that were previously talking. I was met with the sight of a girl with blazing red hair and forest green eyes, freckles donning her cheeks and over the bridge of her nose. She wore simple clothes, a white shirt and black shorts, a blue vest strapped over her shoulders. Her eyes were zoned in on Christi, who didn’t acknowledge her outburst.

She crawled over to us, ignoring me completely in favor of the Faeyr. “Oh my Arina! It’s a Faeyr! Noran, it’s a _faeyr_!”

Her, what I presume, friend, just chuckled at her antics, crawling over to us. They appeared to be male, his brown hair down to his shoulders, deep brown eyes looking at me apologetically.

“Pardon her, she’s not too good with men,” he apologized, giving me a small smile.

I was confused for a second before realizing he was referring to how she was managing to completely ignore me, even though I was literally right next to her. I waved him off, “It’s fine. I’m not mad.”

His smile widened slightly, and he plopped down next to his redheaded friend, both of us watching her gush over the faeyr.

“This is the first time I’ve ever actually seen one!” She continued, slowly reaching her hand over to try and pet the cat-like beast.

Christi snapped her eyes open and growled at the girl, fur bristling. _“How dare you try to touch me! Especially after giving my master the cold shoulder!”_

The girl didn’t appear to hear her but did stop once she noticed the feline’s hostility. “Oh, it won’t let me pet it.”

“I’m not surprised, given that it’s someone’s familiar on top of being a rare beast to encounter in the first place.” Her friend told her, brushing down his shirt.

“What?” She hissed, now turning to me fully, eyes filled with hatred. “How could a _guy _be allowed to touch her? Even worse, how could a beautiful, elegant being such as herself stoop so low as to become a man’s _familiar_!”

Christi yowled at her words, jumping up and baring her fangs at her, tail swishing harshly. _“Bite your tongue, you foul woman! How dare you talk about him like that?”_

“Ray!” Her friend snapped, giving her a harsh glare. “Don’t go around saying stuff like that! See, you’ve even offended the faeyr!”

The newly dubbed Ray clicked her tongue, looking away from me, but didn’t lower her hostile aura. “I was only speaking my mind…”

“And that’s what gets you into trouble most of the time.” He reminded her, relaxing his glare but still scolding her. He turned to me and bowed, “I’m sorry about her, she’s very… intolerant towards men.”

“Well… I can’t say I was expecting that,” I admitted, looking over the redhead nervously, “but it’s fine. I’ve had worse.”

Christi turned to him, demanding to know what he meant by that, even the other two giving him curious looks, but he refused to say anything more than that; it’s not like it mattered, anyway.

“Well, let’s trying this again, shall we?” The brown-haired male spoke, breaking the tenseness in the air. “I’m Noran Genes and this is my best friend, Reina Douglass.”

_So, Ray is a nickname. Also, the people here have surprisingly normal names. _“Nice to meet you. I’m Rye Beckett and this is Christi, my familiar.”

Christi laid back down, rest her head on my thigh, glaring at Reina with intense hatred. I gently pat her head, trying to get her to calm down, but she only relaxed slightly, still giving the redhead the harshest of glares. Well, it’s not like they got on the best foot, so I let it slide just this once.

“It’s rare to see someone with a familiar before even getting to Raiseir Island.” Noran commented, glancing at Christi. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone having a Faeyr as a familiar either, so you’re two for two right now.”

“Uhuh…” I replied, unsure of what to say.

“Noran, why are you even talking to him? He’s a guy!” Reina hissed, turning to her friend.

“Because, Ray, we’re not the only people in the world and Rye seems like a cool dude.” He responded nonchalantly, ignoring her growl at his response.

I could physically feel Reina glaring daggers at me, as if I offended her on some sort of personal level which, I mean, seeing as how she reacted to me just by me being a guy, I actually might have. So, I did my best to ignore her and the intense hatred her look held.

“Uh, pardon if this is rude,” I began hesitantly, rubbing the back of my neck, “but, aren’t you a guy too, Noran?”

He blinked at me in surprise while Reina jumped up, snapping at me, “How _dare _you insult them like that!”

“What?” I asked, confused, holding my hands out. “I didn’t mean—”

Noran snorted, turning my attention back to him. “It’s fine, you’re not the first one to say that.”

Reina growled at me but sat back down, folding her arms over her chest.

“I don’t identify as either male or female,” Noran continued, giving me a patient smile, “so I use they and them for me.”

I stared at him—_them _for a moment before an understanding smile swept across my face. “Oh! You’re nonbinary?”

“Nonbinary?” They inquired, tilting their head to the side.

I nodded, “Yeah, that’s what the people in my wor—_town _would call someone who didn’t feel comfortable identifying as male or female. It’s totally cool with me, by the way. I don’t care what you prefer to be called.”

They stared at me for a long minute, making me shift in my spot uncomfortably. Did I offend them somehow? I mean, yes, obviously I had, since I misgendered them the moment I met them, but I didn’t mean to! A few more moments passed before they laughed, bringing me out of my spiraling thoughts.

“Nonbinary, huh… I like that! Yeah, I’m nonbinary, then.” They said, not looking at all offended. “It’s nice to have a word to describe myself.”

I let out an inward sigh of relief and gave them a sheepish smile, “Well, I’m glad I could help, I think.”

Christi purred in amusement, also accepting Noran for their preference. Noran practically melted, seeming relieved to have someone accept them for who they were.

“I’m glad you guys don’t seem to mind; most people tell me I’m crazy or need to grow up.” Well, that answered my earlier statement. I frowned, _so, people are the same no matter where you go._

“It doesn’t change who you are,” I said instead, giving them a small smile, “you’re human, no matter what.”

Silence met my words and I was immediately reminded that I was not in my own world. Did they even call the people here humans? _Dammit, Rye, you stupid piece of—_

“Yeah,” they whispered, returning my smile with a heartfelt one of their own, “yeah, we’re all human, aren’t we?”

_Okay, cool, so they do call themselves humans. _I beamed at them, tapping their shoulder in a friendly gesture.

“Alright! It’s time for us to set sail!” The man from below called, jumping on top of the beast and settling atop its head. “Let’s go!”

With that, the creature began to move, slowly swimming away from shore. I felt my heart ram against my ribcage inside of my chest, nervousness trickling through my skin. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt as though this journey was important, as if it were the thing that set my “story” in motion. I glanced down at Christi, who looked back at me warmly, and I flicked my gaze over to Noran, who gave me an excited smile.

I smiled back, feeling my nerves settle down; _it’s fine. I’m not alone. _That thought made my eyes prickle slightly and I blinked the feeling away, not wanting to cry already. It’s been so long since I’ve had anyone with me, and I was grateful for that, the feeling making my heart warm. I looked forward, a new wave of determination washing over me, _even if this isn’t my real world, even if I go back home to where there’s no one, I’ll remember my time here, and I’ll make the most of it! _With that, I anxiously waited for what come ahead, ready to face whatever came my way.


	6. Chapter 6

“Rye? Rye, wake up!”

I bolted up with a start, sleep still heaving in my eyes. “Wha—Who’s there?”

Noran looked at me worriedly, their eyebrows creased in concern, “It’s just me, Noran. You okay?”

I groaned, rubbing my eyes, my body sore from the awkward sleeping arrangement I had. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good… Just tired.”

They gave me an understanding smile, “Yeah, I can get that, especially if I had a faeyr sleeping on my legs.”

I looked down to see that, indeed, Christi was asleep on my legs. As if waiting for the realization, I could feel the uncomfortable tingle that came when a part of your body fell asleep spring into action a few seconds later. I winced as I tried to move my legs, the sensation being disagreeable with me.

“Christi, get up, please,” I said, not unkindly, reaching over and gently shaking her.

She _mrowed_, pushing herself further on my legs, clearly not wanting to get up. I shook her a few more times before she mewled and rolled off, giving me an equivalent of a huff at being woken up. I gave her a sympathetic pat on the head and rubbed my legs, hoping to wake them up.

Noran gave me a small smile, seeming to understand my predicament, “Hate to tell you this, but we’re here, and you’re gonna hafta climb down.”

This time, I was the one to groan. How was I supposed to do that when it felt like millions of little needles were prodding into my skin and every time I moved my legs tensed horribly in protest? Christi seemed to understand my unwillingness to move as she sat up, gave her pelt a few quick licks before hopping into the air, going back to her normal size, large wings flapping heavily. She gently picked me up between her teeth, the collar of my shirt between her jaws, and flied over to the ground, setting me down before landing herself, shrinking.

Noran whistled, impressed, and followed us, sliding down the Yanmoo with ease. I shifted between my legs, tempted to stomp my feet in an attempt to wake them up, “Y’know, Christi, since you can fly, why couldn’t you just have flown us here?”

_“I have never left my home island before,” _she replied, _“so I would not have known where we were going or what in particular we were looking for.”_

“Fair enough,” I murmured, pleased to find that my legs were slowly waking up.

“Noran!” I looked over to see Reina fling herself at her friend, a wide smile on her lips. “We’re finally here! How exciting is that?”

They chuckled and patted her head, “Pretty exciting.”

“And we’re in the same Class!” She continued, enthusiasm practically radiating off of her, “Man, this is going to be awesome!”

I couldn’t help but smile slightly at their interaction; I may have never had a friend that was as close to me as they were to each other, but I could appreciate their closeness. Christi purred in the back of my mind, and my smile widened marginally; ah, that’s right, I’m not alone anymore. I continued to watch as Reina went off about all the things she and Noran would do together, barely catching that someone else was making their way over.

“I see that you all got here in time,” a stern voice said, stopping Reina’s one-sided conversation and making us all turn to look at who said that. A lady stood a few feet away from us, a stereotypical school teacher’s outfit on, a tight-fitting white shirt and black skirt with black pantyhose, piercing blue eyes and dulled red hair tied in a messy bun. She pushed her glasses up efficiently, looking us all over, “My name is Madam Heart, and I shall be one of your teachers while you are here.”

We all nodded silently, feeling as if we spoke out of turn she’d scold us.

“Before we get going, I would like for you to state your names and which Class you are assigned to,” she continued, her tone leaving no room for argument. She turned to Reina, “You will go first.”

Reina nodded, looking slightly nervous, “I’m Reina Douglass and I’m in Star Class…”

She turned to Noran, who understood the look she gave them, “I’m Noran Genes and I’m also in Star Class.”

“You, over there, reading that book,” she turned to the fourth member in our group, which we all completely forgot was even there. Cold blue eyes looked up from the, unreasonably, to me, at least, thick book, staring at Madam Heart, “Introduce yourself and your Class.”

They were silent for a beat before a cool, calm voice answered, “Niko Rodriguez, Moon Class.” With that being said, they continued with their book, ignoring the rest of us.

Madam Heart hummed noncommittally at their response, pushing her glasses up once again, “Someone from Moon Class, is it? I suppose your actions make sense, then.”

I wondered how often this happened to her for her to just let their actions go unpunished, chalking it up to the Class they were in? I didn’t ask, though; she scared me. Finally, she turned to me, a demanding look in her eyes, and I swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling persecuted.

“I’m, uh, Rye Beckett and I’m in… Ace Class,” I mumbled the last part, hoping they didn’t hear it.

My wish went ignored as all eyes turned to me, shock present in all of them. I hunched my shoulders forward, wanting to make myself appear smaller than I was.

“I see…” The redheaded teacher hummed, eyeing me with suspicion, “So, an Outcast has finally joined us.” Christi growled at her accusing tone, making the woman turn her attention towards her. “An Outcast with a faeyr as well? Interesting.”

I could literally feel the accusation in her voice, as if I’d already done something bad, even though I just got here. Not only that, but I could feel the hatred in Reina’s eyes worsen and the hesitance in Noran’s. _Well, so much for making a new friend._

_“How dare you insinuate Rye has done something bad by just existing?” _Christi hissed at Madam Heart, giving her a heated glare.

She narrowed her eyes at the feline, “It is quite well known that those who have been chosen for the Ace Class are… uncouth.”

_“So, you’re just going to toss aside my Master with that forgone logic, just because of something he had no control over?” _She accused, fur beginning to bristle.

Before she could respond, Reina spoke up, confusion clear in her voice, “Madam, who are you talking to…?”

Madam Heart looked over at the other redhead, adjusting her glasses, “Ah, that’s right, you are all untrained. I was having a conversation with the faeyr here,” she motioned to the beast, “do not worry; once you are well trained, you will be able to hear her as well, and any other familiars you come across that are not yours.”

She promptly turned around, ignoring me and Christi as she spoke to the others, “Come along now, students. I’ll show you to your houses.”

“We get our own houses?” Noran asked.

“Of course not; each Class has one house with multiple rooms to accommodate for each student.”

They nodded, appeased with her answer, and followed, Reina and the other person following soon after. I stayed back for a few moments, unsure if I should bother; they didn’t seem to want me there anyway. _So, it’s just like being back at home, _I mused, feeling my heart clench, _what was the point of coming here if I’m just going to get ostracized here as well?_

_“Master, do not worry—I assure you that not everyone is like that.” _Christi whispered in my mind, _“That one—Noran, I believe—does not dislike you. They are just slightly more wary about you, but do not bear any ill will towards you. You just have to prove to them that you are not like the others that came before you.”_

_If you say so… _In truth, I was still uncertain, sadness at being disliked right from the start just bringing me down even more. _Well, it’s not like we have anything else to do. Maybe I can find a way to get home here; it’s not like it’ll be any different. Besides, at least I had some sort of purpose there, as miniscule as it was. _I walked away, ignoring Christi’s demands for answers and kind words about how she cared about me. I should’ve known better; this place wouldn’t help me, it wouldn’t help me feel wanted somewhere, anywhere, even if it were just for a little while. Even if it were just a dream. _I didn’t deserve such happiness._

I could feel Christi’s despair at my thoughts in the back of my mind, feeling her attempts at comforting me and letting me know that I was wanted. At this moment in time, I couldn’t trust her words—this would all be over soon, anyway, and I’d be back home, in a place where I could at least _make _myself feel wanted. I managed to catch up to the group, slightly grateful I didn’t wait behind too long, otherwise I’d be lost. Only Noran acknowledged my return, giving me a brusque nod, to which I ignored; if I kept my distance, it’d hurt less when I finally left, when I went away knowing that they’d be happier without me around.

I looked around, not having done that before when we’d landed; we were in the thicket of a forest, and I could vaguely remember that we didn’t drop off on a beach. _Doesn’t this look like some other story I read? _I wondered to myself offhandedly, _what was it called again? _I couldn’t remember; I mean, I liked to read, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t a passion of mine, so I never really remembered anything I read. We continued onward, my mind wandering about aimlessly, before finally reaching a clearing.

Looking up from the ground, which I found more interesting than social interaction and Christi and Noran’s worried looks, I was surprised by what I saw. Four large mansion-like buildings stood in front of us, the markings of each Class hollowed out on the arks in front of each of the buildings. I noted that every Class besides the Ace Class was there, and I nearly scoffed when I noticed; _well, it’s not like there were many in that Class anyway, so they wouldn’t need a building_, I tried to reason with myself, but was still a bit irked.

“Go ahead and enter your assigned house.” Madam Heart told us. She turned to look at me, her gaze still as harsh as it was earlier, “Sir Beckett, you are able to choose which house you would like to stay in. It’s one of the few _perks _of being in your Class.” I could feel the oily sarcasm dripping from her voice when she said the word perks.

“Um…” A shy voice spoke up, and both of us turned to see Noran slowly walking up to us, a shy look on their face, “You can stay with us, Rye. Y’know, only if you want to?”

I was shocked, to say the least, while Madam Heart was completely dumbstruck, staring at Noran as if they grew another head. I eyed them suspiciously, watching as they shuffled on their feet nervously, “Don’t you, like, hate me or something?”

That made them whip their head up to stare at me, doe-eyed, “What? Hate you? What made you think that?”

I shrugged, deciding that I could be a bit snarky to them because of what happened earlier, “Oh, I don’t know, how about when you gave me a look like I was going to stab you in the back the second you turned around?”

“That’s—”

“Or when you said nothing when Madam Heart went off on me, despite the fact I have done literally nothing and just got here? Or ignoring me after the fact, and not bothering to check up on me after that?” Okay, maybe I was letting my emotions get to me, but I was honest to God _hurt_, so letting a bit more on then I meant to wasn’t crossing my mind at the moment.

Noran looked completely guilty, face contorted in honest hurt, but I ignored it; they’re probably faking it anyway. Make _me _feel guilty for feeling the way I did, so they could laugh about it later.

“I didn’t mean…” Noran spoke softly, gaze flicking to the ground, “I’m sorry.” Those words sounded so sincere, so heartfelt, that my own heart hurt.

_No, _I told myself sternly, _they’re just trying to break down your walls. They’re not being sincere. _Madam Heart said nothing, just watching the interaction with a hawk-like stare, and I decided to weigh the options. _I could choose a different house, so that I wouldn’t have to put up with them, and Reina hates me even more than they do. _My eyes flickered over to the person assigned to Moon Class, who entered their house and closed the door just as I did so. _I could go with them, but I literally know nothing about them other than their name._

_Isn’t it better to go with someone you know, even if you don’t get along? _I asked myself, gaze returning to Noran, _it takes out the awkwardness of not knowing anyone and can give me at least a small sense of comfort of not being alone in not knowing what the hell I’m doing. _I bit my lip, suppressing a heavy sigh in my chest. No matter how I split it, that seemed like the best option.

I sighed through my nose, rubbing the back of my neck. “Alright, fine. It’s whatever, I guess.”

Noran seemed to light up at my response while Madam Heart narrowed her eyes, displeased. _I don’t think she’d be pleased no matter what I chose. _She cleared her throat, dragging our attention back to her, “Alright. You shall be placed in Star Class and will have most of your lessons with them. There will be a few that you will take alone, in part of you being an Ace student, but other than that, you will do everything people from the Star Class does.”

I nodded, taking in everything she said.

She _harrumphed_, harshly turning her back to us, “I am a teacher for the Clover Class, so I will not be able to show you around. Now, chop-chop! We don’t have all day.” She walked off, leaving us alone together, an awkward silence palpable in the air.

“So, shall we?” Noran asked, trying to defuse the tension between us.

I only nodded, beginning to walk towards my newly assigned house, trying my best to ignore the hurt in their worried brown eyes, Christi following just behind me silently. Don’t get close, won’t get hurt. That was the mantra I was going to live by for the amount of time I spent here, so I wouldn’t be upset when I left. I grabbed the handle of the door for the Star Class mansion and threw it open haphazardly, my emotions still boiling over from earlier.

Inside, all conversations stopped, and all eyes turned towards the noise. I stared back, my mind taking a moment to catch up. When it did, most people went back to their conversations, ignoring my loud and sudden interest, which I was most thankful for. Reina was one of the ones who didn’t, gawking at my appearance. She snapped her mouth closed and glared at me, about to come over and, presumably, yell at me, but was cut off by an older woman walking over towards me, Noran squeezing inside as well.

She smiled down at us, looking to be at least six feet tall, and slapped a hand on my shoulder, making me wince. “Nice to meet ya! I’m guessing you’re with pretty little miss over there?” She asked, thrusting a thumb towards Reina.

Noran nodded, giving the lady a small smile, “Yeah, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She howled with laughter, slapping the brown-haired teen on the back. “Well, aren’t cha a cutie! No need to be so polite, kid! I’m Jess Mandy, it’s nice to meet you! I’m your teacher.”

“Rye Beckett, nice to meet you, Madam Mandy.” I introduced myself monotonously, giving her a polite bow.

The brunette waved me off, a wide smile on her red lips, “Aw, shucks, kid, no need for formalities. Calling me ‘Madam’ makes me sound old, y’know! Just call me Jess.”

I gave her a tense polite smile, forcing down the warm feelings she gave me. She seemed so genuine, but I couldn’t trust that. “I apologize.”

“Relax, my boy!” She said, roughly patting me on the back, making me cough. “No one’s gonna hunt you down for being yourself here!”

“A-Alright,” I coughed, rubbing my back gingerly.

“Well, I guess I should introduce ya to your new house.” Madam—_Jess _muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She beamed and made her way to the other end of the room. I noticed that the front hallway was directly connected with what I could only guess was the living room, or front room, just off to the side on the right. She stopped and turned around, clearing her throat, “Alright, listen up! We have three new students joining us today, so make sure to give them a warm welcome, ya hear?”

“Yes ma’am!” sounded throughout the room, a few giggles and chuckles here and there. Jess nodded, pleased, before walking back over to us. Reina had joined Noran’s side at some point and Christi sat at my feet dutifully.

“Alright, I guess I should show ya to your rooms.” She said as she stopped in front of us. Her hazel eyes traveled down to where Christi sat, and a low whistle escaped her lips, “I see ya got a faeyr there, Rye. What’s ‘er name?”

“Christi,” I replied.

She nodded. “A fine name for such a fine creature. Your familiar?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Neat. It’s rare to see someone with a familiar so soon, ‘specially one as rare as a faeyr, ya hear?”

“So I’ve been told.”

Jess shot me an amused look before turning around, waving at us to follow. We did and listened to her ramble as we made our way through the long hallway, “Well, I guess I should tell ya about your new place here. Boys’ rooms are on the bottom floor while girls’ are on the second. I understand that some people don’t like normal gender rules, but they’re stuck in a room with the gender they’re born to, so sorry ‘bout that.” Noran didn’t seem offended and just nodded. “Oh, so you’re one of ‘em too? Cool. Anywho, we’ve got plenty of rooms open for ya, but y’all are gonna hafta share. I know, I know, but it’s not only to save space in case more people come but to help ya get used to at least someone around here, ya hear me?”

She stopped in front of a room with the number 105 on it. “This is y’alls room, Rye and, uh…”

“Noran,” they responded.

“Noran, right. I thought it’d be easier for you two to bunk together since I assume you know each other, even if it’s just a bit, right?”

We nodded.

“Good. Makes it easier on the both of us.” She opened the door, ushering us inside. “Make yourselves comfortable and whatnot. This is the room you’re stuck with for a while, so get used to it!” She waved and walked off, Reina following her.

We stood there cumbersomely, neither of us saying a word to the other. I looked around the room, desperate for something to do other than talk to them. The room was bigger than my old one, a bed on either side, pressed up neatly against their corner of the room. Golden brown planks of wood made up the floor and white coated walls surrounded us. Simple desks sat next to each of the beds with a modest designed chair pushed into them. A large window was embedded into the wall opposite of where we were standing, a darkly colored curtain draped over it neatly. Dressers stood at the ends of the beds, a nice mahogany and sleek, looking smooth to the touch.

“So,” Noran spoke up, once again the one to try and initiate conversation, “I know I said this already, but I really mean it: I’m sorry.”

“So, you didn’t mean it last time?” The words were out of my mouth before I could process them. We were both shocked, but I didn’t try to retract them. There’s no point if they didn’t mean what they said the first time.

“That’s not what I meant!” They back stepped quickly, eyes widening, “I, uh, I mean—”

“It’s fine,” I cut them off, getting secondhand embarrassment from watching them flail their arms. “It’s not like it’s the first time someone’s cut me off for being… different, so you’re fine.”

“It’s not fine!” They shouted, making me jump. I looked at them with wide eyes, seeing theirs tear up, “I don’t know what life you had previously, or why you even came here, but I know what Madam Heart, Reina, Niko and I did was wrong. We shouldn’t have treated you differently just because of what others in your Class did; you’re not them.”

Those words struck me deeply, and I felt tears threaten to creep into my own eyes.

_“They’re right,” _Christi spoke up, after having been silent all this time. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with fiery determination. _“I am not speaking as your familiar, but as your trusted companion and friend: you are not what the others have paved you out to be. You are your own person. After all, you’re human, aren’t you?”_

Her expression softened when she repeated those words I said to Noran back at me, making my heart tighten once again.

_You’re human, no matter what._

I let out a shaky breath, my body trembling faintly. I could feel my anger and despair lessen ever so slightly, still there, but not as prominent as before, “I don’t know if I can trust your words right away, but…” I gave Noran a hesitant smile, “I can give you another chance, can’t I?”

Noran beamed at me, their body relaxing immensely. They nodded hastily, “Yeah! And I promise I’ll be better.”

Christi let out a pleased purr while my smile calmed. Though a part of me suspected that this was all an act, I allowed myself to think that maybe, just maybe, they were being honest, and truly wanted to be friends with me. I chose to take the more optimistic option because, even if it turns out that they were really just messing with me, at least I’d have memories of where they honestly seemed to care about me, and that is all that mattered to me right now.


	7. Chapter 7

By the end of the night, it was decided that I’d take the bed on the left and Noran took the one on the right. The dressers were packed with clothes that surprisingly fit both of us well, despite our size difference. I was, what I considered, a decent height of five foot eleven, while Noran stood a bit shorter than me, at five foot six. The next morning, we found that there were doors on either side of the room that both connected to separate bathrooms, which was a pleasant surprise. Despite the fact that I decided to try and trust Noran a bit more, I wasn’t all too comfortable sharing a bathroom with them.

I was finally able to get a shower and change out of my clothes, which were now on my body for two whole days, something of which I found absolutely disgusting. The bathrooms themselves were quite regal in appearance, marbled flooring and mahogany walls, contrasting with the white ones outside. There was a toilet, which only served to remind me that I had yet to relieve myself properly—let’s ignore the fact that I did, indeed, use the restroom in a place I’d rather not talk about. Once I did that, I threw my clothes off and hopped into the shower, turning on the water and letting it sink into my skin.

I let out a relieved sigh, feeling the muck and grime wash off of me. I heard Christi chuckle in my mind as she sat just outside the bathroom door, washing herself as well. She was definitely more cat than anything else. I struggled to figure out which bottle I should use to wash my hair—and there were a lot of bottles—opting out of using one in the end; I didn’t want to use one that was body wash on accident. I scrubbed myself down with a clean hand towel and ran my fingers through my hair once more before turning off the water and getting out.

I quickly changed into the clothes I’d taken out of the dresser, just a simple t-shirt, long pants, and jacket, as well as the underwear they were kind enough to provide as well, before leaving the bathroom. Christi greeted me with a purr and I gave her a small smile in return, the two of us deciding to wait for Noran to finish before leaving. Jess had come to both of us yesterday to tell us that they didn’t have anything for us to do and we were free to go to bed early, which both of us jumped at the opportunity. While we hadn’t been up for that long yesterday, we had a taxing enough time so that we were tired enough to sleep the rest of the day away.

Noran joined us about five minutes after I finished, the scent of fresh fruits wafting off of them. They quirked an eyebrow at me, asking me why I didn’t smell like I’d used any of the products available, to which I told them that I was too tired to read the labels and didn’t want to chance messing it up, to which Noran gave an amused snort. I couldn’t tell them that I had no idea how to read their language, and Christi mewed in the back of my mind, agreeing with me. I don’t know if I should take comfort in knowing the faeyr couldn’t read as well, considering she never really needs to and never has.

We walked out of our room, making small talk as we made our way to the front room. Jess met us halfway, a kind smile on her face as she let out a boisterous laugh. “Glad to see you two are awake! You slept like rocks!”

I smiled slightly while Noran turned sheepish, Christi flicking her tail in amusement.

“You even missed lunch and dinner! I assume you two are hungry?” At her question, both of our stomachs rumbled, myself being reminded I hadn’t eaten at all since coming here. _How in the world did I not notice until now? _She laughed, slapping the both of us on our backs, “Well, I suppose that answers my question! C’mon, let’s get you two something to eat.”

We nodded and followed her as she walked off, Christi trailing after us. Jess was actually the one to make small talk this time, mainly asking me about Christi.

“So, boy, when did you meet your lil friend there?” The brunette asked, glancing at the feline walking by my side.

“I met her two days ago,” I replied, seeing no point in being dishonest, “I was lost in a forest when I stumbled across her home, where she offered me shelter before leading me back to town.” Okay, so maybe I was lying just a tad, but what they didn’t know won’t hurt them.

“S’that so…” Jess hummed, tilting her head to the side in thought, turning a corner sharply, nearly knocking the two of us off balance. Where were they going? Where did all these turns and corners come from? Maybe I should be paying attention to where I was going… “It’s rare for someone to just stumble upon a faeyr’s den. You’re one lucky kid, y’know?”

_I wonder how many times people are gonna tell me that… _“I see.”

“I’m kinda curious,” she continued, stopping and turning to look at me, “you’re givin’ off some strange aura for a Star Class student.”

I froze, Noran stopping beside me, giving me a worried glance. Christi stiffened, prepared to defend me at a moment’s notice. I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for the backlash of what I was about to admit, “Well, that’s because I’m not an actual Star Class student… I am in the Ace Class.”

Silence met my words as I found the floor suddenly much more interesting than looking at Jess, who I’m sure was looking at me with the utmost disgust. A few minutes passed, and the silence was practically suffocating me, but I refused to look up; I refused to look at the expression of pure revulsion on another person’s face.

“Hm…” Jess hummed, shifting to her other leg as she stood there, “is that so? Cool.”

… What? “What?” I repeated aloud, now looking up to stare at her in shock, “Is that it? Just… ‘cool’?”

Jess gave me an incredulous look, as if wondering why I was so surprised, “Uh, yeah? I’ve always thought that those in the Ace Class were cool! They can learn all sorts of magic and are able to visit all areas that are normally restricted to certain classes? What’s not to like!”

“But… aren’t the ones that were from it kinda… bad?” I asked hesitantly.

“And?” She smirked, bright red lips shining in the artificial lights on in the halls, “They aren’t you; what you do is your business. Be your own person, don’t let what others have done dictate your life!” She whirled around, folding her arms behind her head, stretching, “’Sides, I don’t think they were bad; they just chose to express ‘emselves in their own unique ways.”

She strolled forward, leaving Noran and I gaping at her back. We exchanged a quick glance, surprised at the woman’s bluntness and open attitude. Noran then smiled and shrugged, “She’s right, y’know.”

I felt myself relax as my jaw clinked shut, a small smile finding its way onto my face. “Yeah.” We hurried after her, not wanting to be left behind.

Christi seemed pleased with Jess’ response, giving me a warm review of her in the back of my mind. I snorted at her comments, about to reply before I slammed into someone. I fell on my backside, pain shooting up my spine, my hands slamming against the ground as they reflectively braced me for the fall. My wrists ached from the sudden weight forced upon them, and I winced as I moved them, slowly lifting my arms up to gingerly rub at them. Christi rushed to my side while Noran watched the exchange dumbly, taking a moment to catch up with what just happened.

“Sorry,” I apologized instantly, gaze flickering to the other person who also hit the floor in front of me.

Recognizable green eyes glared at me as Reina pushed herself up, giving me a barely audible growl as she walked over to Noran. “I’m so sorry you had to be stuck in a room with… _that _thing.”

_Gee, thanks. _I thought bitterly, forcing myself not to roll my eyes. Christi gave a quiet hiss in response to her words, placing herself between me and Reina. Jess pulled me up, earning a yelp from me at her unexpected strength.

“Reina, we do not accept that kind of behavior here,” Jess warned, her tone much more serious than I thought it could ever possibly be. Where did her laid-back attitude go? “Apologize to Rye right this minute.”

Reina’s face scrunched up, reluctance visible in her very being, but she did as the woman said, “I’m _sorry_.” She practically spat the apology, not sounding the least bit sorry at all.

Jess looked displeased, but didn’t press the issue, “I guess that’s the best I’m gonna get from you. We’ll work on that later. Let’s hurry to the cafeteria.”

The Star Class teacher turned heel and sauntered off, grumbling under her breath. Reina sent me one final glare before following the older woman, dragging Noran behind her. I pushed myself to my feet, annoyance bubbling under my skin, but I kept my mouth shut and followed behind the trio at a reasonable distance, Christi by my side dutifully.

_“I could enforce some manners into her if you want,” _Christi suggested as they passed by the umpteenth door during their walk around the hallways.

“Thanks, but I’d rather not get into any more trouble than it’s worth,” I said, giving the Faeyr a gently pat on the head.

Christi pouted but relented, not pushing the idea any further. While it did seem like a good idea, I knew it wouldn’t really work out in the long run, so it’d be better to just grin and bear it. That’s how I’ve lived most of my life until now, and it’s never failed me before. We finally arrived at two large doors, Jess grabbing the bronze handle of one of them and pushing the door open, the wooden contraption groaning and creaking in protest, sounding heavy and worn. I stopped just behind Reina and Noran, careful not to bump into either of them, and was met with the sight of what a normal high school cafeteria looked like.

Hundreds of people sat at the long, rectangular tables that stretched from one end of the room to the other, thin enough so that multiple ones could fit inside. There appeared to be twelve tables in total and they were as crowded as one would expect. Chatter echoed throughout the large room, filling in every corner and crevasse it possibly could. There was a long counter at the opposite end of the room where what appeared to be cafeteria staff worked, hurriedly dishing out orders students gave them left and right.

“Go ahead and get something to eat.” Jess said, smiling at us three. “Don’t worry about paying for anything; everything here is free. We’re all practically family, after all!” She turned and began to walk off before stopping, turning back towards us, “Oh, I almost forgot! We’re having lessons after breakfast, so just follow the crowd when you’re finished, alright?” With that, she turned and skipped away, whistling a cheery tune to herself.

We stood there awkwardly, none of us knowing what to say. Noran cracked a hesitant smile, deciding that it was basically their job at this point to try and defuse any awkward or tense situation, bless their soul, “So, uh, I guess we should probably get something to eat.”

“Sure!” Reina smiled, about to leave but was stopped with Noran grabbed her wrist.

She turned, giving them a curious look, while Noran returned it with a serious one of their own, “All _three _of us.”

Reina bristled, clearly not liking that idea, “And what makes you think I’m going to spend it with that thing?” She spat the word that so venomously I was certain I could’ve been burned by it had she been any closer to me.

“In case you forgot, we’re the only three new people here, and it’d be awkward to just walk up to a random person and force ourselves into their group.” Noran stated matter-of-factly, their tone level.

The redhead opened her mouth, as if to refute that statement, but found she had nothing to argue against it with. So, she snapped her mouth shut and grumbled out an agreeance but looked none too pleased. Well, small victories, I suppose. Noran shot me a somewhat smug look of victory before leading us towards the other end of the room, careful to avoid the hands of those who liked to use over-the-top gestures when talking. We placed ourselves at the end of the, surprising short, line, slowly making our way forward.

Once we reached the counter, a bubbly woman greeted up, a smile on her worn lips. “Welcome! You three look new. New students?”

“Yes ma’am,” Noran replied politely, sending the elderly woman a kind smile of their own.

She laughed, “My, no need to be so formal around here! We’re all family. What’re your names?”

“Noran Genes.” They replied, nudging Reina to introduce herself as well.

She shot him a look before complying, “Reina Douglass.”

“Rye Beckett,” I finished.

The elderly woman nodded sagely, “I see. Well, welcome! Just call me Granny. You all are like my grandchildren, after all.”

“Yes ma’am,” the three of us replied, to which she laughed good heartedly at before asking us what we’d like.

“Anything we want?” Reina questioned, raising an eyebrow when the woman mentioned it.

Granny nodded, a kind smile on her face, “Yep. Don’t worry about what it may be, as we have practically everything your little heart could desire!”

“I see… Then, can I have grilled riva?” Reina asked, a gleam in her forest green eyes.

“Sure, dear!” Granny chuckled, ruffling Reina’s hair.

“I’d like a lyra and fruit salad.” Noran said.

“Of course, hun.” Granny turned to me, an expectant look in her eyes. “What about you, dear?”

I just stood there, dumbfounded, not knowing what anything was. Lyra? Riva? What in the _hell _were those? So, I did what any normal person would do:

“Well… what do you recommend?” I asked, trying to be subtle that I was at a complete loss.

She smirked, tapping her chin thoughtfully, “Me? Well… I quite like the runeberry parfait with the cavab omelet.”

“Then, I’ll have that.” I said, feeling slightly relieved that I didn’t have to look any more stupid than I already was.

Granny nodded, turning around to call out our orders to the other people behind her. She turned to us and gave us a warm smile, “Go ahead and sit down. I’ll bring it to you when it’s done.”

We nodded and turned to look around to see where a free spot was. Noran luckily found an empty spot at the end of one of the tables on our side, the others who were occupying it getting up and leaving. We quickly took it, not wanting anyone else to steal it from us. I sat on one side while Noran and Reina sat on the other, the redhead clinging to the brunette’s arm possessively. I stared at them for a moment, absentmindedly petting through Christi’s fur as she purred contently, resting her head on my lap.

“Are you two dating?” I asked finally, after a few minutes of sitting in silence.

The two of them looked at me, Noran in surprise and Reina in disbelief, before Noran chuckled and shook their head. “No, we’re not dating. We’re just really good friends.”

Reina huffed, hugging Noran’s arm tighter, “Besides, Noran isn’t interested in anyone or anything. Romantically, I mean.”

“Oh,” I was thoroughly embarrassed, deciding my feet looked mighty fine at the moment.

Noran laughed, waving his free hand nonchalantly. “It’s fine, you didn’t know. But, yeah… I can’t say I’ve ever felt romantic attraction towards anyone. Much less sexual attraction.”

_I think I’ve heard of something like that before, _I thought, but didn’t say anything on it. It’s not like I was an expert in the area, after all. I’ve only ever had two girlfriends before, and those two relationships were… rocky, to say the least. So, yeah; I’m not the guy to go to for relationship advice.

“That’s cool,” I said instead, combing my fingers through Christi’s surprisingly thick and smooth fur.

“What about you?” They asked, a playful glint in their brown eyes. “Got anyone you’re dating, or even interested in?”

I shook my head, looking back up at them. “Nah, not right now. Relationships never really worked out for me. Besides,” I decided to joke around, wanting to lighten up the mood, “I don’t think anyone could handle _this _beauty.” I exaggeratedly gestured towards myself, making Noran and Christi laugh, even making Reina snort. I call that a success.

“Sure,” Reina drawled, rolling her eyes, “I’m betting every girl’s chomping at the bits to get a piece of you.”

“You know it.” I winked, making them all snort and laugh in amusement.

We continued joking and talking, Reina slowly relaxing as time went on, being a bit more open towards me, which I was happy about. Means I must’ve been doing something right. Around five minutes passed before our food was brought to us, Granny giving us an apologetic smile and apologizing to us about the wait, which we brushed off. We weren’t waiting that long, after all. She placed our plates of food in front of us, giving us a small bow before leaving, going back to the kitchen.

I looked down and my mouth watered. The omelet looked fluffy and soft, steam coming off of it in gentle waves. The parfait was served in a tall wine glass, what looked to be ice cream layered at the bottom, a sort of bluish-white berry layer above that, more ice cream above that and the berry topping it. I felt my stomach rumbled intensely, a blush forming on my cheeks as I realized both Noran and Reina heard that. They looked at me for a solid minute before bursting out laughing.

“I guess we should eat,” Noran choked out between laughs, amusement flickering in their eyes.

I blushed more and the three of us grabbed our silverware—which I was silently grateful that is was the same as it was back on Earth—and dug in, enjoying our food. As soon as the omelet touched my tongue, I was hit with a variety of flavors and textures, nearly making me moan; it was beyond delicious. Far better than anything I’ve ever tasted in my life! I tasted some sort of meat that was delicately placing in the middle of the omelet, the taste somewhat acidic and maybe even a bit tangy, but I didn’t mind in the least.

I finished off the omelet quickly, ignoring Noran’s surprised look and Reina’s amused sniff, turning my attention towards the parfait. I picked up the glass, enjoying the coolness on my skin as I picked up my spoon, eagerly digging into the treat. My mouth was invaded by the extreme sweetness the ice cream and berries provided, practically making my head spin. I have always had a sweet tooth, so this was basically heaven for me. I finished it off in seconds, regretting it by the end as I got a brain freeze, the others laughing at my antics.

Noran and Reina took their time eating, not rushing it as I had. Even Christi was given something to eat, Granny saying it was “on the house”. It was a fish of some sort, the scales a beautiful rainbow in color, and Christi slurped it up in seconds, a content look on her face as she chewed the fish happily. I made stupid jokes and puns to pass the time while I waited for them to finish, careful to not do it while they were chewing or swallowing their food so that they didn’t have the chance of choking.

I brightened when I managed to make them laugh or chuckle, laying on the jokes more when it happened, feeling better about myself while doing so. I never made anyone laugh like this before, never really having friends to do so, so I was extremely happy when my jokes worked. I wouldn’t really call Reina a friend, but Noran was slowly getting there; it wasn’t that I particularly disliked Reina, but I wasn’t too sure what her actual opinion of me is.

The two of them finished soon after I did, all of us picking up our plates and utensils and bringing them back to the kitchen staff, who thanks us, and we were on our way. We didn’t know exactly where we were going, so we just followed a few groups who were also making their way out, chatting amongst ourselves as we made our way through the maze-esque mansion. Once the front door opened and sunlight hit our skin, we nearly melted in relief. The house was way bigger than we gave it credit for, and we walked through those halls for at least a good fifteen minutes before finding the front door.

I don’t think it was anyone fault; the mansion was just huge.

We continued to follow our seniors as they turned to the right after leaving the house, making their way past the mansions and into the forest surrounding them. I walked absentmindedly, not really listening to Noran and Reina’s conversations as we entered the wildlife. Christi sniffed around the unfamiliar territory, fascinated by all the differences this forest had to her own. I also decided to look around, noting that the colors in this forest were much darker than the ones in the previous forest I was in. Dark purples and blues coated the leaves and grass, the trunks a dark brown.

The small number of flowers I could find were a deep gold or yellow, the only bright colors of the forest. I smiled at Christi’s childlike glee, hopping around to and fro, bright blue tail wagging excitedly. We finally entered a separate clearing a few feet from the other one where the houses stood—at least, I think so; I wasn’t really paying attention. The walk seemed short. The four of us paused, staring at the ludicrous amount of activity going on. Some people were practicing what appeared to be magic, winds shooting from some hands while others manipulated the ground beneath them.

I was fascinated with that, believing magic was just a thing made for stories… Well, I guess _technically _I am in a story, but still. Semantics. I looked around to see many practicing sword fighting, the sound of metal clashing together echoing throughout the clearing. A small group sat together in a small circle, thick books placed in front of them, so I assumed they were studying. I continued to let my gaze travel across the area, watching as arrows landed deeply into test dummies, awestruck when I noticed multiple beasts walk side by side with, what I presumed, were their “masters”; that word didn’t really sit right with me.

I didn’t say anything about it to Christi, but I internally cringed when she called me it. I have to remind myself some time to tell her not to call me that anymore. Reina let out a squeal as a bunny-esque beast hopped past her, short fur a pale pink and long ears pointed skyward.

“Glad to see ya came!” A familiar voice boomed, all of us turning to see Jess making her way towards us. Her smile was wide as she stopped just in front of us, hands placed on her hips, shifting her weight to one leg. “Well, I guess it is mandatory, so it shouldn’t be too much a surprise.”

“What is this?” Noran asked.

“A training area for all classes.” Jess replied, looking around. “Well, it’s really only for sword practicing, hand to hand training, studying, and simple magic training. Nothin’ too fancy. That’s what our specific designated areas are for.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Reina questioned, eyes flaring up in excitement.

Jess beamed, gesturing towards the area where people were sword fighting, “Since y’all are new, y’all are gonna be trained to sword fight and given hand combat training! It’s mandatory for every Class to learn both of those skills so that we’re on an even playing field when we compete without magic in our tournaments.”

“Tournaments?” This time I was the one to ask, slightly confused and mildly concerned.

“Yep,” she replied, popping the ‘p’, “we have four tournaments every year, all varying from physical combat to magical combat to even familiar bonds!”

Christi brightened at the opportunity to show off her bond with me, but I wasn’t as enthusiastic as she was. I mean, we literally haven’t even known each other for a week…

“Don’t worry about it, though. You don’t have to join if you don’t want to.” The brunette continued, seeming to sense my unwillingness. She gave me a friendly smile, pumping her fist, “But, you _do _have to learn how to work a sword, so c’mon! Let’s get y’all started.” She briskly turned and jogged off, leaving us to follow behind her.

“Hey, Klen!” Jess called out, a short male turning around to look at her. She stopped in front of him, pointing to us as we paused just behind her. “Got some fresh blood that needs sword lessons. Care to teach ‘em?”

The male smile, nodding happily, short hair bobbing along with his movements, “Of course teach!”

“Great! I’ll leave ya to it, then.” Jess waved us goodbye before wandering off, going over to help those who were studying.

“Alright, I suppose I should introduce myself.” Klen said, turning to us. “I’m Klen Jacobs, a few years your senior.”

“You?” Reina scoffed, eyeing the male that was shorter than even her with distaste.

“I’m nineteen, believe it or not.” Klen smiled, not bothered with her accusing look. “Just because I’m short doesn’t mean I don’t pack a punch.”

“Ray, be nice,” Noran pleaded, sending the ginger-haired girl a quick look.

She huffed but didn’t say anything else. In all honesty, I’m surprised how much Noran’s got her on a leash.

“I can see that our young lady here doesn’t seem to like me very much,” the short male stated, twirling a small lock of light brown hair between his thumb and forefinger.

Noran waved their hands around frantically, slightly panicked, “Th-That’s not it! She’s just not good with males in general…”

Klen eyed him for a moment, analyzing their answer, before shrugging. “I see. Well, I suppose there’s only one thing we can do then. Amy!”

At the sound of her voice being called, a monstrously tall female whirled around, light blue eyes looking around before landing on Klen. She said something to her sparring partner before jogging over, the armor she was wearing clanking together. She made it seem like it weighed absolutely nothing, which I assure you it was most likely not.

“Yeah? What’s up, Klen?” She asked, pushing back stray hair that had fallen onto her face.

“Seems that our red-headed friend here has quite the strong disliking of men.” He said, gesturing towards Reina. “So, I assumed you’d be a perfect substitute in my place.”

Amy looked at Reina and beamed, “Oh, of course! No problem! A new student?”

Reina nodded numbly, probably taken aback by the other’s beauty. Hey, I call them like I see them.

“Cool! Come on, I’ll help you out.” She grabbed Reina’s wrist and pulled her away, the redhead stumbling to catch her footing.

Noran and I just watched in muted amusement. Klen chuckled and turned back to us. “Well, that settles that. C’mon, I’ll be teaching you two.”

We nodded and followed behind him as he walked towards the sword container. Well, I don’t think it’s called a container. The swords were placed carefully into slots in a wooden box-like thing, and I’m terrible at explaining things, but I really can’t remember the name at the moment, so that’s the best you’re getting… Wait, who am I talking to? We stopped in front of the wooden contraption and Klen gingerly pulled out two swords, testing their weight in his hands before handing each of us one.

“We’re using real swords?” Noran squeaked, hands trembling faintly.

Klen nodded, “Best sooner than later. We used to use wooden swords for training, but those were too different from actual swords, so we stopped using those.”

While I could understand the sentiment, I really didn’t want to be using an actual sword, especially since I’ve never even seen one in real life before. I stared at the gleaming metal in my hands, mind blank. Christi gave a worried trill, clearly just as unwilling to let me do this as I was to do it.

“A faeyr?” Klen inquired, eyeing the beast in awe.

I nodded, removing my eyes from the sword. “Yeah. She’s my familiar, Christi.”

Christi purred in greeting while then brunette whistled. “A faeyr for a familiar, huh… Can’t say I’ve ever heard of that before, but more power to ya, I guess.” He stared at Christi for a moment before nodding, grabbing a sword for himself. “Alright, let’s get to it.”

“Now? Like, right now right now?”

“Yep,” Klen grinned, something I couldn’t quite recognize flickering in his eyes, “get ready; I won’t go easy, even if you’re new.”

_Great, _I thought sarcastically, gripping the handle of the sword tightly, _is it too late to go back home?_


	8. Chapter 8

I fell to the ground harshly, the air knocked out of my lungs from the blunt hit of the handle of Klen’s sword towards my ribs. Dirt clung to my skin and sweat rolled down my chin and arms, the salty liquid running over the multiple cuts I acquired during my quote on quote “training”. The burned as some of the sweat soaked into them, making me even more uncomfortable, my shirt clinging to my body from the substance, my hair plastered to my head as well.

“Again,” Klen said, holding up his sword, adjusting himself into a fighting position.

We had been training for around five hours now, Noran taking two while I took the remaining three. The reason I was taking longer was because, as I said earlier, I’d never even seen a sword in my life before, so of course I had no idea what I was doing. Klen was a surprisingly patient teacher, stopping our training to show me what I was doing wrong before having me do it by myself till I got it, not forcing himself on me while I practiced the move or position he showed me. I had to admit I was somewhat grateful for that, but what I wasn’t grateful for was the large number of cuts and bruises I’ve received during this brutal training. Who said this was necessary? Oh, right, Jess…

“Maybe we should take a break,” Noran said, bless their kind and forgiving heart.

I lay on the ground, tired and defeated, while Klen barely lost breath, even after having fought both of us. What are the people in this world made of? Was this normal? I wouldn’t know, I hardly ever even exercised… Maybe that was one of the problems I had. Klen chuckled and stuck his sword in the ground, wiping off his hands, “I suppose we could get something to eat and wash ourselves up a bit.”

On que, my stomach rumbled loudly, and I cheered, making Noran and Klen laugh while Christi purred in good sport. Noran helped pull me up, my body too tired to do it by itself, and we followed behind Klen as he walked towards the small refreshment stand nearby. The small male ordered each of us a runeberry shake and a lyra sandwich. The person running the stand handed him his order and he thanked them, turning back to us and trotting over.

“Here ya go.” He handed us a single sandwich and shake before taking a bit of his own.

We followed his lead, and I was happy to find out that this “lyra” meat tasted almost exactly like chicken, which I absolutely loved. I finished off the sandwich in a couple huge bites and took a sip of the shake, shivering faintly at the cold temperature and eyes widening when I felt the tiredness in my body lessen more and more with each sip I took.

“Good?” Klen asked, noticing my reaction. “Runeberries are used to replenish one’s strength, and they’re extremely sweet, so it’s a win-win situation.”

I nodded, slurping up the drink with a newfound vigor. Christi was given another freebie from the person working at the stand, feeding her fresh fish they had caught not too long ago. The faeyr happily chomped away, eagerly catching the fish they threw in midair, her wings puffing out. I finished up the shake too soon for my liking, desperately sucking at the small remains at the bottom of the cup. Klen and Noran finished shortly after me, chuckling at my poor attempts to get the last sip of the shake from the bottom of the cup.

“There is a river nearby, so go ahead and wash up. Meet me back here in ten minutes.” Klen said before waving and walking off.

Noran and I glanced at each other. Well, where was the river? We had to ask someone else, who laughed when we told them Klen forgot to tell us, which they said was normal behavior for him. They generously pointed us in the right direction and we thanked them before walking off, chatting idly to each other. The river was a few feet from the clearing, crystal blue water churning softly. I bent down and splashed my face with the cold liquid, letting out a relieved sigh as Noran did the same.

“Man, that was tough,” I admitted, gingerly rolling my sore shoulders.

Noran chuckled, dipping his arms into the river to clean the dirt from them. “Yeah. Never handled a sword before?”

I shook my head, “Nah. I never needed to.” Which was true; in my world, swords were basically useless, even to the military. It’s all about guns and stuff now. I mean, we have knives, but those aren’t really the best thing to have when you’re going up against a group of people with automatic machine guns.

“I see. Must’ve been living a pretty easy life,” Noran replied, their words making me tense.

I forced myself to relax, reminding myself that they didn’t know the truth about my situation. I smiled, the smile strained and empty, but hopefully that wasn’t too noticeable, “Ha, yeah.”

“Where are you from, by the way?” They asked, pouring a small amount of water onto their head. “I’m from Javin Island, where we left… Are you from there, too?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head after pouring water onto it, getting the sweat out from my hair. “I’m from… A place not many people know about. You definitely wouldn’t know it.”

Noran hummed, curiosity alight in their eyes, but they didn’t press on the subject, “I see.”

“Coming through!” We were barely warned before Reina charged out of the bushes and pushed us aside to dunk her head in the river. She held it there for a few seconds before pulling it out, “Pwah! Much better.”

I stared at her, unamused, while Noran chuckled. Christi was playing with the fish in the river, paw darting out to try and snag them from the water, failing each time she did so.

“Man, Amy’s really tough,” Reina sighed, slumping down and stretching, a tired groan escaping her throat.

“So is Klen,” Noran added, giving their friend an amused glance.

“Man, sword training is so boring!” Reina pouted, falling onto her back. “I want to practice my magic!”

“Star Class specializes in light magic, right?” I asked, going back to washing the dirt from my skin.

Noran nodded, doing the same. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

“It’s _super _cool!” Reina interjected, sitting back up. She stared at the clear water for a moment before a smirk formed on her lips, “Hey, we should practice a little here!”

“What?” Noran and I sputtered, taken aback.

Christi flicked her ear, turning her attention towards us.

Reina puffed out her chest proudly, a mischievous gleam in her eyes, “Why not? It’s not like anyone’ll know. No one else is here!”

“That doesn’t mean that someone won’t come by!” Noran hissed.

“Aw, quit bein’ such a baby!” Reina teased, poking the other teen. “Just a little? Maybe we could make a small ball in our hand, and that’s it!”

Noran looked uncertain while I was debating the idea. I doubted that I had any magical prowess to begin with, but if I did… Well, what Jess and the others didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, right?

“I’m in.” I said, making Reina cheer and Noran give me a betrayed look.

“See? Even _he _has some spine.” The redhead stated.

Noran bit their lip nervously, gaze flicking between the two of us. After a few moments of internal debate, they sighed, relenting. “Alright, but only just a little!”

Reina pumped her fist in the air and I smiled. Christi, herself, seemed curious and had no qualms with our idea. Reina, as expected, declared to go first, holding out her hand, her palm facing upward, as a serious look of concentration took over her expression. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and her eyes were practically crossed, her eyebrows furrowed, and her nose was scrunched up. After a minute or so, a small amount of light emitted from her hand, making all three of us cheer.

“I did it!” Reina celebrated, giving both of us a smug look, closing her fist, the light disappearing.

“That was so cool,” I admitted, completely in awe.

“I know, right?” Reina smirked at me before turning to Noran, “Alright, your turn!”

“Do I have to?” They asked hesitantly.

“Of course you do, lyra butt!” Was lyra butt the equivalent of chicken butt?

Noran sighed and held out their hand, concentrating intensely. It took a bit longer than it did for Reina, but soon enough, a dim light shone from their hand. It was dimmer and smaller than Reina’s, but noticeable nonetheless.

“Congrats! I knew you could do it!” Reina cheered, slapping her friend on the back.

They coughed and gave her a sheepish smile. They both turned to me, expectant looks on their faces.

“Alright, your turn, Outcast.” The redhead said, her words said without their usual venom, but still stung slightly. Outcast, huh? Well, I suppose it’s better than the alternative of being called something potentially worse.

I nodded and held out my hand, concentrating my thoughts into it. I honestly wasn’t sure what exactly I was supposed to be thinking, so I was just staring blankly at my outstretched hand.

_“Think of what you want to see,” _Christi suggested warmly, _“of what you think the power of light should look like.”_

I nodded at her words and closed my eyes, trying to imagine what I thought the power of light should look like. I imagined a warm light, something soothing and welcoming, something that makes you feel safe and wanted. I opened my eyes and gaped at what I saw; a ball of light, about the size of my hand, floated above my palm, glowing softly, a warm feeling emitting from it. I looked at Reina and Noran, who both looked just as shocked as I did.

“Woah…” Reina whispered, eyeing the ball in awe.

Woah was right. How in the world did I manage to do this? _Especially _on my first try? _Am I the protagonist of a story or something? Oh, wait… I was literally sucked into a book. Never mind. _I brought the ball of light closer to me, the energy following my hand as it moved. I was so enthralled and overwhelmed, not expecting anything like this to happen when I felt something off enter my body. I can’t really explain it, but it felt like a bad sort of energy sunk into my skin, making me uncomfortable and jittery. Before I could even try to place what the feeling was, the light in my hand flashed, the energy going haywire and zapping random locations nearby, frying spots of grass and even creating burnt spots in tree trunks.

“What the hell?” I shouted, recoiling my hand, the ball staying where it was, no longer following me.

“What’s going on?” Reina demanded, hastily dodging a shot of light aimed at her, burning the spot she was previously occupying.

“I-I don’t know!” I was panicking, scared out of my mind, “I felt some sort of weird energy enter my body then, _bam_! The light went out of control!”

“Bad energy?” Noran repeated, avoiding a shot aimed at him.

I nodded hastily. “H-How do I stop this?”

“It looks like it’s gone out of control,” Reina said, glaring at the small floating ball, “I don’t think you have any control over it anymore.”

“Oh no…” I whispered, panic running through my veins.

Christi hissed at the ball, fur bristling, morphing into her normal size, standing in front of me to protect me from any stray shots. Luckily, someone heard our shouting, and Jess ran out of the brush, who looked at us in shock.

“What in Arina is going on here?” Jess demanded.

“I-I was just trying to practice my magic, and it got a bit out of control,” I replied immediately, prepared to take them blame for the entire things.

Reina gave me a stunned look, opening her mouth to say something before Jess cut her off. The older woman sighed, rubbing her forehead gingerly, “I see… I suppose, as a newbie, you’d be curious as to how your magic works. But, you’re still too new at this.” She waved her hand, the ball of light disappearing instantly. She walked over to us, a disappointed look in her eyes, “Try not to do this again, okay?” She looked around, a low whistle escaping her lips, “But, I’m impressed. That’s quite the amount of power you got there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a newcomer that has shown as much magical potential as you do. Though, because it’s got that much of a punch, you could’ve really hurt someone.”

I nodded mutely. Normally, I would’ve felt at least somewhat proud that she thought I had potential, but all I felt was guilt. She gave me a sympathetic smile and ruffled my, still wet, hair. “Now, don’t give me that look. I’ll overlook it this time, just make sure there’s no next time, alright?”

I nodded once more, and she left, leaving us alone in silence.

“You…” The soft whisper of Reina brought my gaze up, making me look over at her. Her green eyes were wide with disbelief, body trembling slightly. “You… took the blame? Why?”

I shrugged, “I mean, it was my fault all this happened…”

“I was the one who suggested it!” She snapped, stomping her foot, “Why didn’t you let me take the blame? Are you trying to gain something from this?”

“What? Of course not.” I replied, confused. “It was my fault we got caught, so I did what I thought was right, not because I wanted something from it.”

Reina snapped her mouth closed, teeth grinding against each other. She had a contemplative look on her face, glaring at the ground at her feet. I, on the other hand, was wholeheartedly confused, just staring at her dumbly. Noran smiled and walked up to me, patting me on the shoulder.

“Well, let’s forget about that… You said you felt some sort of… ‘bad’ energy?” They changed the subject, smile dropping into a serious look.

I nodded, looking down at my hands, “Yeah. Just before the light went haywire, I felt… off. Like something bad sunk into my body, and, before I knew it, I lost control over the ball.”

Noran hummed, rubbing their chin thoughtfully with their forefinger. “I see…”

Reina had snapped out of her weird trance, letting my words sink in. “It sounds like you got hexed or something.”

“Hexed?” I repeated, confused.

She nodded, walking up to us. “Yeah, it’s kinda like someone giving you bad magical energy to try and mess with you.”

I frowned, pursing my lips, “Why would someone want to do that?”

She shrugged, “Dunno. Did you manage to piss anyone off before coming here?”

“You mean other than everyone?” I quipped, giving her a smirk.

She rolled her eyes, a small smile forming on her lips, “Stupid.”

“Well, that’s a possibility,” Noran said, bringing our attention back to them. They looked at us serious, a grim expression on their face, “I don’t know who or why, but it’s possible someone has it out for you.”

I felt my blood run cold, a light shiver running down my spine. Who would do something like that? I was concerned, but I had another question in mind, “You guys… believe me?”

Reina eyed me, crossing her arms, “I mean, you _did _save us from being too badly reprimanded with Jess, so I suppose I could give you the benefit of the doubt this one time.”

Noran nodded in agreement, giving me a tentative smile, “I did say I was gonna try better, didn’t I? The first thing I thought I should do was trust you a bit. At least until it’s proven that you shouldn’t be trusted.”

Well, that was better than nothing. I smiled at them, grateful for their—most likely temporary—trust in me. Christi wholeheartedly trusted me, able to feel what happened to me when the magic went out of hand. I patted her head, thankful for our bond, so that I had at least someone who trusted me without question on this; I didn’t do it on purpose.

“Well, let’s get going,” I said, “I think it’s been about ten minutes about now.”

They smirked at me and followed me as I walked by, Christi hopping around just behind us, a fish in her jaws. Looks like she finally got one… I need to pay more attention to what she’s doing. She’s probably going to snag a random bug that’s as tall as me one day and I’d be none the wiser until we got back to our room. We reentered the clearing, Reina going back to Amy while Noran and I made our way over to Klen. The shorter male gave us a questioning look, raising an eyebrow at our slightly scorched clothing.

“What happened to you?” He asked.

I shrugged, “We got in a small accident?”

He eyed us for a moment before chortling, “Well, I can’t say that’s too uncommon for newbies. Just try to be more careful next time, alright?”

“Yes sir,” we said in unison, making him snort at our response.

“C’mon, let’s get you both back to practicing.” He said, waving us over.

I exchanged a glance with Noran, who shrugged, giving me a pleased smile, before walking off. I shook my head, a small smile on my own lips, and followed, Christi deciding to stay behind to snack on her fish. My thoughts traveled back to what happened earlier, and my smile faded, replaced with a grim expression. I know I wasn’t making things up when I said I felt something weird enter my body; Christi could attest to that. But, who could’ve done that? Even more so, who _would’ve _done that? I know I’m not the greatest person alive, but I don’t think I could’ve offended someone that badly… At least, not yet?

I shook my head, removing those thoughts from my head. It’s whatever right now. I have more important things to be focusing. So, with that, I quickened my step, eager to forget about what happened back there. _I’ll think about it later, _I decided.

It was only until the sun began to set did our training session end. Needless to say, I was extremely sore and tired by the end of it. I was pretty sure I got the worse end of it since I was the most inexperienced out of the three. Noran was tired as well for sure, but they seemed better off than I was. Klen was just showing off by barely losing any breath and hardly breaking a sweat, not looking any different from when we started. _I swear I’ll beat him someday, _I told myself as I sluggishly trudged back to the mansion, barely able to keep up with Noran and Klen, who were a few steps ahead of me.

The trip back was excruciatingly longer than it was coming and was definitely not only just a few feet from the mansions. I nearly collapsed a few times, and Christi, being the amazingly incredible familiar she was, let me lean against her to balance myself after the third time, ignoring my protests that I could walk by myself just fine. I felt my eyes droop heavily, exhaustion deeply embedded into my very bones. Everything seemed to take so much longer and was so much harder to do, which I was extremely unhappy about.

I wanted to just sleep for weeks, showering be damned that’s how worn out I was. Of course, I couldn’t just forgo showering, as even the thought of falling asleep in my own sweat and filth make me cringe. So, after eating another recommended dish Granny suggested after I asked her upon returning—I was famished, leave me alone—I returned to my room alone, sans the company of Christi, who I just considered a part of me at this point, taking a quick shower before flopping on my bed.

As my body sunk into the mattress, I let out a content sigh, letting my muscles relax and the previous tension in my body fade away. Christi took to laying down on the floor next to my bed, despite my suggestion of laying on the bed with me. She turned it down, saying she was just fine with being on the floor, so I let her be. I didn’t want to come off as demanding, after all. Baby steps and all that.

It was around thirty minutes before Noran joined me, followed by Reina, as I was just finally nodding off. I gave them a groan to let them know I acknowledged their entrance but refused to sit up.

Reina rolled her eyes at me, plopping down on Noran’s bed like she owned it. “Glad to see someone’s glad to see us.”

I gave another groan in response, not bothering to even make an attempt to speak. I was tired, dammit.

“Let him be, he’s tired.” Noran said kindly, giving me a small smile. “He had a tough time with Klen, after all.”

“Wuss.” Reina said, clicking her tongue. I let her insult slide, even Christi too beat to retort it. She scooted back so that she could lean against the wall, resting her head against the white surface. “Y’know, something’s been bothering me ever since your magic mishap.”

I hummed, turning my head to look at her properly, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Like, you said you felt off a little bit before it happened right?” I nodded. “Okay, so, like, a few minutes after you said that and we returned to the training area or whatever, I could, like, sense something coming off of you.”

Now _that _caught my attention. I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the protest of my body as I did so. “What?”

“I can feel it too,” Noran admitted, giving me a quick look over. “I can’t really tell you too much, but from what I can sense, it’s not a good thing.”

_“So what I was feeling was not my imagination,” _Christi mulled, narrowing her eyes, _“it seems someone has indeed hexed you, Master.”_

“Hexed me?” I repeated, looking at Christi.

She nodded, flicking her tail slightly, _“It appears to be a pretty powerful one at that. I am not all too familiar with human magic, but even I can tell with something is amiss.”_

“Talking to your familiar?” Reina asked.

I nodded, “Yeah. She said someone casted a powerful hex on me.”

Noran frowned, thrumming their fingers on their bed in thought. “Well, if even Christi thinks so, then we should probably tell Jess about this.”

Reina and I nodded, all four of us getting up and leaving to find the brunette. Luckily for us, she was in the main room, spread out on the largest couch lazily, strands of hair falling off the side. She looked up at us when we entered the room, not moving from her position, seemingly comfortable as she was.

“Sup. Need me?”

“Yes ma’am,” Noran spoke, gesturing to me, “it seems that Rye here has gotten himself hexed by a very powerful curse or something of the like.”

Jess frowned, pursing her lips as she sat up, adjusting herself to a proper sitting position. “S’that so… If even newbies like y’all can sense it, then it is indeed quite the powerful spell.”

“You knew?” I asked incredulously.

She nodded, offering us a small shrug, “Well, I felt somethin’ off about ya when I went to check up on ya, but I thought it might’ve been an aftereffect of usin’ your magic for the first time or somethin’.” How many times is she just going to ignore the letter ‘g’ in those words? She got up, sauntering over to us, staring at me for a moment, “Yeah, it’s a pretty bad one. The aura surroundin’ you is all black ‘n’ stuff. This is high-tech magic at work, I can tell ya that.”

“Do you know what it is?” Reina asked, taking a step forward.

Jess shook her head apologetically, “Can’t say I do. I was never one to remember the names of magic spells ‘n’ all that. We could ask Madam Heart ‘n’ Madam White, though. Those two are absolute nerd when it comes to magic, so I’m sure they can tell ya what it is.”

“Who’s Madam Black?” I asked, a tad curious.

“Ah, right, y’all don’t know all the teachers here. Madam White is the teacher for the Moon Class, ironic name, I know. Y’all already know Madam Heart, the teacher for the Clover Class, ‘n’ then there’s Sir Harp, teacher for Cloud Class. He’s a nice guy, you’d like ‘im.” Jess said, turning around, “Alright, let’s go and see if we can get this all sorted out.”

“Wait, you mean, like, right now?” I was floored. Didn’t she know that it dark outside, and everyone was most likely asleep by now?

“Why not?” She shot back, unfazed. “The sooner the better, yeah? ‘Sides, it’s not like this’ll be the first time we’ve had a meeting in the middle of the night.”

“Wait, hold on, what do you mean by ‘meeting’—”

I couldn’t even finish my sentence before she formed a large ball of light in her hand and threw it out a nearby window. We rushed outside to see it explode into a bright flash, surely waking up everyone who was even thinking about falling asleep. _Sorry, _I internally apologized, wincing quietly.

Bodies flooded out of the houses, many people still in their sleepwear, complaining about what was going on. Madam Heart and two other people led the others out of their respective houses, so I assumed the other two were Madam White and Sir Harp. Madam Heart looked less than pleased, glaring daggers at Jess while Madam White didn’t seem all too fazed, like she was used to the other lady’s antics, brushing her long white hair behind an ear, her blood red eyes filled with mirth. Sir Harp looked the least affected by what was happening, hair strewn about haphazardly in a somehow natural looking way, his stubble of a beard being rubbed at nonchalantly as he sipped at the liquid in his cup, amusement sprinkled in his blue-green eyes.

“What could possibly be so important that you called a meeting in the middle of the night?” Madam Heart spat, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

Jess didn’t seem bothered and just shot them a bright smile, “Sorry ‘bout that, Annie! I just needed y’alls help with somethin’.”

“And what would that be?” Madam White asked, her voice quiet and soft, flowing from her pale lips like honey.

“You see this kid here?” She pushed me to the front, all eyes turning to me, making me incredibly nervous extremely fast. “You see this aura he’s got? Yeah, I need y’alls help figuring out what it is.”

“Did you not pay attention during lessons?” Madam Heart accused, clearly fed up with the brunette’s attitude.

Jess laughed at the redhead’s accusation good heartedly, taking her words in stride. “Not at all!”

Madam White giggled, “I can’t say that’s too much of a surprise.” She then turned her gaze towards me, eyes widening just a tad. “Oh my… That is indeed not good.”


	9. Chapter 9

“What’s not good?” I asked, anxiety hitting me in full force.

She gave me a faint smile, but the worry was evident in her eyes, “It seems you’ve got one of the strongest curses one can manage attached to you.”

“I what?” My voice squeaked tightly, but I was more concerned with that the older woman had said than what my voice sounded like at the moment.

Madam Heart glared at me, adjusting her glasses, “Unless you have suddenly gone deaf since the last time I’ve seen you, I am going to assume your heard what Madam White said just fine.”

I glared back at her, biting back a snarky retort; damn she pissed me off.

“Hey now, anyone’d be shocked to learn they got a huge curse placed on them,” Jess said placatingly, stepping between us. “Give the kid some slack, Annie.”

“Don’t call me that,” the redhead snarled, huffing as she backed off.

“I haven’t seen this curse in quite some time,” Madam White continued, ignoring the little altercation that just happened. She walked towards me, placing a cool hand on my cheek, “I believe this spell is known as Avaciderous.”

“Avaciderous? Isn’t that, like, a super rare and super old spell?” Sir Harp spoke up, his voice deep and rough, taking another sip from his mug.

Madam White nodded, staring deep into my eyes. “Indeed… it is a forbidden spell, as it has been known to kill its host within a year’s time.”

“Kill?” Okay, now I was officially freaked out and fearing for my life. Who would want to _kill _me? What did I do!

“Kill? Are you serious?” Reina demanded, practically glaring at the Moon Class teacher.

She nodded sagely, turning her gaze to the redhead, “I’m afraid so.”

“Is there any way to dispel it?” Noran asked, shuffling from one foot to the other.

Madam White hummed, running a hand through her thin, silky hair. “Indeed there is, but I’m afraid we do not have the ingredients needed to create the potion to do so.”

“Well, what do you need?” I asked, slightly fearful of what the answer was.

She glanced at me, her expression grim, “There are three main ingredients used in the potion to dispel Avaciderous…” She waved her hand and an image appeared, the figure made of pale blue light, glowing dimly in the moonlight. It looked like a weird fruit, the shape round at the bottom and spiky at the top. “This first is a fruit from the Hundle Tree on Javier Island. It is in the middle of its forest, the tree quite small in size and its fruit the size of a fingertip. Its color is a pale orange at the top, a deeper orange for its bottom.”

She flicked the image away, another taking its place. What appeared next was something I saw before: that creepy ass caterpillar from before all those days ago—which, come to think of it, wasn’t all that long ago, but who’s counting. “However, this forest is known as one of the more dangerous forests in Hallow, as it is crawling with flesh-eating bugs and beasts.”

I shivered before a thought crossed my mind; _Hallow? What’s Hallow?_

_“That is the name you humans gave this planet.” _Christi said, sounding mildly curious at my confusion. _“Have you forgotten?”_

Oh, right, I still haven’t told her I was from a different dimension entirely. I really need to remember to do that sometime soon. _Oh, right, ha ha. My bad. _She still seemed curious, but let it go, returning her attention back to Madam White’s explanation. I could feel the rush of determination in the back of my mind, thanks to Christi’s influence, and was mildly comforting in this situation; she seemed determined to find these ingredients and save my life, which was always a plus.

_“I will not allow you to die now,” _Christi spoke up, glancing at me, _“especially not since we have spent only so little time together. You have a long life to live, and I am determined to see it through with you.”_

I smiled, gladdened by her words, sending her my thanks before looking back at Madam Heart.

“The next is the freshly molted feather of a faeyr, which we luckily are able to obtain, if you are willing so,” Madam Heart said, looking down at Christi.

_“Of course.” _Christi replied, no hesitance in her tone.

Madam Heart nodded, continuing onto the last ingredient. The last image slowly faded into existence, the shape similar to that of a teardrop. “The last is a Tear of Truth from a gladite, found in the barren lands of Hast Island. This is known to be the hardest of the three to obtain, as gladites are known to be temperamental and unwilling to produce a tear for those the deem unworthy… It is near impossible to obtain this one, as there are only very few known cases of one succeeding in this endeavor.”

Whelp, if there was any amount of hope I might have had before that statement, it was absolutely crushed now. Noran and Reina looked devastated by the news, even Christi faltering at it, but refused to give up.

_“If we manage to get them all, will you be able to save Rye?” _The faeyr asked, staring directly at the white-haired female.

She looked down at the beast and nodded. “I am most certain… Though, that is only if you are able to find them and bring them back within a year’s time. Getting these are hard and treacherous.”

“We’ll do it.” Reina said, placing a hand over her chest, a steely glint in her green gaze. “We’ll get those ingredients, and we’ll save Rye.”

I was taken aback, first because she called me by my name, and secondly because she actually offered to go and try to get the things needed to _save my life. _What did I do to deserve such an abrupt change of heart?

Noran nodded, stepping forward next to Reina, looking just as determined as her. Madam White was just about to say something before Madam Heart cut her off, an angrily constipated look on her face, “How do we know you won’t go run amok?”

Reina visibly bristled at the other redhead’s comment, glaring at her, “Do you dare to insinuate we will do something unworthy of being in a Class?”

Madam Heart shrugged, pushing up her glasses, “Perhaps. I do not trust a group containing of just those from Star Class to go off on their own on such a dangerous journey, especially since you are all new students who have hardly been here for even a day.”

“Well, then why don’t we have someone from the other classes join ‘em?” Jess suggested casually. “I don’t mind, and I’m sure these four won’t mind either.”

_“If they are willing to help my Master, then I shall allow their company.” _Christi stated plainly.

Noran smiled, saying they didn’t mind, and Reina shrugged, agreeing with Noran. I nodded along with them; if they wanted others to tag along, I really wouldn’t mind.

Madam Heart glared at the brunette but accepted those conditions, “Fine. Then I shall have Terry Horux from Clover Class join your… group.”

A short boy – or was it a girl? — stepped out from the crowd, tired green eyes staring at the foursome from thick lensed glasses with boredom, long blonde hair tied up in a low hanging ponytail. “That’s me, I guess.”

She turned to Sir Harp, who blinked in surprise. “Oh, me next? Then, uh, I guess I’ll have Vicki Horux go too.”

A small girl, around the same height as Terry, walked forward, shyly looking at them, hazel eyes filled with hesitance, “U-Um, g-glad to m-meet you!”

“Then, I suppose that leaves me,” Madam White murmured, her words slow and melodic. She looked towards her students and hummed, tapping the tips of her fingers against her cheek, “Then, I will have Niko join you.”

I frowned, recognizing the name, but I couldn’t remember where I heard it from. When a boy with pitch black hair and piercing blue eyes stepped forward, my eyes widened as a flash of recognition hit me; it was the guy who joined us on the ride over to this island! Niko stared at my coldly, expression blank and emotionless.

“Him? Isn’t he a new student as well?” Madam Heart asked skeptically.

Madam White nodded, unbothered by Madam Heart’s accusatory tone, “Yes, he is, but he is a promising child, and quite skilled in magic already. I believe this journey will be a good chance for him to learn about the outside world, as I’ve been told he’s never left his home before now.”

The redhead sniffed, scrunching up her nose in distaste, but said nothing else. Terry, Vicki, and Niko walked over to us, stopping right beside us to look at Madam White. The Moon Class teacher gave us a look over, concern shining in her deep red eyes. “I know that the decision has mostly already been made, but I shall ask once more: are you sure you are willing to do this?”

“Yes,” Noran, Reina and Christi answered unanimously, no hesitation in their voices whatsoever.

“Yes ma’am,” I said.

Vicki and Terry nodded while Niko remained silent, not even giving a nod to the question. Madam White gave him a small smile before turning towards the woods, holding a hand out, “I shall teleport you all to Javier Island, but I am unable to help beyond that. I wish you all the best of luck.”

We nodded, besides Niko, and watched as a portal opened before us, the inside a mesh of black and white, the outline a bright blue. With a deep breath, I walked forward, everyone else following just behind me. I can’t go back now—or, well, I _could_, but, you know, semantics—it’s now or never, and, hopefully, I find everything before my life is cut short.

The first thing I noticed when I exited the portal was the rush of hot air that greeted me, practically slapping me in the face, making me squint my eyes at the sudden onslaught. I hadn’t realized how dramatically different the temperatures were on Raiseir Island compared to this one. While Raiseir Island was actually cooler and damp, Javier Island was like being cooked in the sun. So, you know, polar opposites, really.

“Man, I forgot how hot Javier Island was,” Reina muttered, stepping up next to me, waving a hand at her face in a poor attempt to cool her down.

“What even is this heat?” A new voice snapped, making me turn around. Terry glared at the sand he, she, they, whatever, I’m not judging, was standing on, grumpily making their way towards us. “How can you people even stand this heat?”

Reina shrugged, “You get used to it.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever ‘get used to it’,” they huffed.

“I-It’s not so bad, Terry!” Vicki spoke up, having exited the portal next. She stopped beside the blonde, a wavering smile on her face, “I-It could be w-worse!”

“I don’t want to think of what could possibly be worse,” Terry grumbled, gazing at the ocean behind them longingly.

Niko and Noran were the last to appear, the portal closing just behind them. With them here, I decided to get the ball rolling, “Okay, so, how about we do a quick introduction of everyone, so that we all know who each other are, okay?” They all nodded, once again leaving Niko out of the mix, and I beamed. “Okay, cool, I’ll go first. I’m Rye Beckett, seventeen, and in Star Class, but my actual Class is Ace.”

Terry and Vicki looked surprised but didn’t say anything about it. Well, that went a lot better than I was expecting.

“I’m next.” Reina said, taking a step forward, “Hey, I’m Reina Douglass, eighteen, and I hate boys.”

I noticed Vicki flinching ever so slightly, but I didn’t know why. Why should she be worried?

“Then, I suppose I’ll go next.” Noran smiled kindly, placing a hand on their chest, “I’m Noran Genes, also seventeen, and am in Star Class. I would prefer if you didn’t refer to me as either male or female, but instead them or they.”

Terry nodded, looking unperturbed by the brunette’s words, and Vicki just gave them a supportive smile. Niko didn’t say anything, but he didn’t look put off, so I suppose that’s good. Noran sighed in relief and stepped back respectfully, letting whoever wanted to go next step forward.

The next person to introduce themselves was Vicki, a hesitant smile on her face, “Um, uh, I-I’m Vicki Horux a-and I’m in C-Cloud Class. I-I’m Terry’s t-twin s-sister!” Terry elbowed her, and she gasped, “Oh, right! I, um, I-I’m sixteen years old!”

Terry sighed, pulling off his glasses and giving them a quick wipe, “I’m Terry Horux, Clover Class, and Vicki’s twin brother, though I don’t really care what you call me by. I’ll let you know if there’s any day I want to be called something in specific.”

I nodded, letting their words sink in. So, a nonbinary and someone who didn’t care what they were called… I mean, this is quite the interesting group to say the least. We all turned to Niko, who had yet to introduce himself. He stared at us, nonplussed, before letting out a small sigh, giving in.

“Niko Rodriguez, nineteen, Moon Class.” He said, his words short and simple.

“What? You’re nineteen?” Reina gasped, eyeing him. “But you’re so… short!”

I winced at the redhead’s wording; she really didn’t know how to sugarcoat things. I looked at Niko and, well, she wasn’t really wrong, per se. Going by my own height of five foot eleven, I could safely assume that Reina was around five foot eight, a bit taller than Noran, and all three of us towered over Terry and Vicki, who looked to be around five foot respectively. Now, Niko wasn’t as short as the twins were, but he was hardly that much taller than them, standing at around five foot four.

Niko glared at her, crossing his arms, “And?”

“I just thought—” Before she could finish her sentence, Noran slapped a hand over her mouth, cutting her off.

“Sorry about her, she doesn’t know when to stop.” They apologized, giving him a quick smile.

He eyed the younger quietly before sighing, letting his arms fall to his side. The twins and I stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. So, to ease the tension, I cleared my throat, bringing their attention back towards me, “Well, that was informative, I suppose. How about we go and rent out a hotel room or something and make plans for what we should do?”

They nodded, and I was internally grateful that most things here are called the same things as they were on Earth. Saves me from so much possible embarrassment. I let Reina lead the way, as she boasted about knowing this island the best, which she was probably right about; I had no idea what was where, at the very least. I let my mind wander as the others talked amongst themselves, dragging behind them right next to Niko, who also stayed silent. I was berating myself for not even questioning what this world was even called—though, let’s be real, Hallow isn’t really the most creative name. Wait, wasn’t the book called Hallow? Or was it Hollow? Is there even a difference? They sound pretty much the exact same.

“You,” a cold voice snapped me from my thoughts and I looked over to see Niko glaring at me with the most emotion I’ve seen on his face yet. His gaze bored into me, eyes sullen and unforgiving, “You must think you’re quite special, don’t you?”

I was already taken off guard by him suddenly talking to me, so him assuming I thought myself to be more than normal was just the cherry on top. “Excuse me?”

He narrowed his eyes, “Being picked to be in the Ace Class… You must think you’re above everyone else, don’t you?”

“Where in the world did you get that idea?” I was more confused than angry at his comment; like, seriously, where in the world was all of this coming from?

“Don’t get too full of yourself,” he continued, blatantly ignoring my question. “Just because you’re the only person to be picked for the Ace Class in hundreds of years doesn’t mean you’re better than the rest of us.” With that, he pushed forward, leaving me even more confused than before.

_What in hell was that about? _I wondered, frowning. _Do I really give off that sort of vibe or something? _We found ourselves in a fairly modest hotel, Noran paying for us all, waving off everyone’s, besides Reina and Niko’s, attempts at saying we’ll pay them back.

“Don’t worry about it,” they said kindly. “I’ve got money to spare.”

Well, it seems that we’ve got ourselves a rich kid… What do they even use to pay for things here? I watched Noran as they pulled out a small pouch and pulled out gold coins, handing them to the lady at the front desk, who gawked at them before taking the shiny coins, eagerly giving the brunette the two keys they paid for.

“Why did you get two keys?” Terry asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity as he glanced at the two bronze keys in Noran’s hand.

“Well, there are ladies with us,” Noran said, gesturing towards Vicki and Reina. “So, we can’t exactly have them be in the same room as us. Besides, it’d be cramped if we did that.” They paused, backtracking a bit, “That is, if you want to be with the boys. You can be with the girls too, if you want.”

Terry waved them off, unbothered, “It’s fine. I feel more masculine than feminine today, so I’m fine with stay with you guys.”

Noran nodded, relaxing slightly, turning to Reina and giving her a key. “We’ll go explore our rooms then meet up in the boys’ room, okay?”

“Why the boys’?” Reina asked, giving her friend a skeptical look.

“Well, it wouldn’t be very proper to barge into a lady’s room, now would it?” Noran shot back, giving her an amused look.

Reina snorted and back off, waving us goodbye as she and Vicki walked upstairs to find their room. We waited a moment before doing the same, as our rooms were right next to each other. Why we didn’t just go with them? I have no idea.

We waited as Noran opened our hotel room that we have booked until we feel like leaving—one of the perks of being super rich in this world, I guess. They pushed the oak door open and we filed into the room. I was surprised to see that the hotel indeed has a room for four people to stay in, as there were four beds presented in a neat line at the other end of the room. It was fairly spacious, not so small that we’d feel claustrophobic if stuck here for a while. I let my eyes wander and noted that there was no TV, which I wasn’t too shocked or upset about, and that there was a small kitchen connected directly to the front room.

_It doesn’t really look all the different from hotels I’ve seen in movies, _I thought. Christi rushed towards the beds and claimed the one of the very left, rolling around on the sheets happily. I raised an eyebrow, amused and curious at her decision.

“So, are we taking that one?” I asked, walking over to her, letting Niko, Noran, and Terry do their own things.

Christi purred happily, nuzzling against the pillow, _“It is in the same spot as your bed at the Star Class house.”_

_That’s your only criteria?_

_“It is a comforting thought.”_

_Oh, right, you can hear my thoughts._

_“Is there a reason you keep forgetting?”_

_Bad memory?_

She chortled, rolling over to me and nuzzling my arm. I smiled and pat her head.

“Seems like you’ve picked out a bed,” I turned to see Noran look at me, eyes full of mirth.

“Well, it was Christi’s choice. Said it was because it’s in the same spot as the one back in the Star Class house.”

“That’s it?”

“Pretty much.”

Noran rolled their eyes, seemingly exasperated, but held their action in good nature. I shot them a smirk before plopping down on the bed as well, feeling the mattress bounce at my weight. I was in such a good mood thanks to Christi’s child-like behavior that I momentarily forgot the reason why we were here. However, I was sourly reminded when, after a few minutes of making ourselves comfortable, Reina and Vicki entered, and we had to go over our plan for how we were going to get the fruit from whatever tree Madam White said.

“Alright, since we’re all here,” Noran spoke, taking the role of ‘leader’ at the moment, “let’s discuss how we’re going to do this.”

“The tree i-is in the m-middle of the f-forest, right?” Vicki asked, her voice wavering slightly, her nervousness still not yet settled.

Noran nodded, looking around the group, “Does anyone happen to have a map on them?”

“I do,” Terry said, pulling off the backpack he brought with him—when did he have that? Am I really that imperceptive? He pulled at the strings and pulled the top open, so it was more like a sack than a backpack and shuffled through the contents before pulling out a worn-out map. He rolled it open and set it on the floor in the middle of the circle where we sat.

Noran bent forward, eyeing the map crucially. “Alright, so we’re on Javier Island,” they said, pointing to one of the larger islands around the bottom right of the map. Well, their bottom right, I was sitting across from them, so I was looking at the map upside down. At least, I think I was—I couldn’t read a single word on it, “and we’re around here.” The pointed near the edge of the island, only a bit into the green that indicated what I assumed to be forest or wildlife.

Why would they use green if none of their forests were actually green?

“Where we need to go is here,” they said last, pointing directly into the middle of the island on the map, where the darkest green was.

“So, how’re we going to get there and manage to not get out bodies torn apart by human-munching bugs?” Terry asked plainly, like what they said was the most normal thing in the world.

Spoiler alert, it wasn’t, not even in a world as messed up as this one. Even Vicki and Reina cringed at the short boy’s words, giving him a disgusted glance.

“Well, I heard that the bugs here hate the smell of vibeetle juice.” Reina threw out, leaning against her hands as she leaned back.

“Vibeetle juice? As in… their excrements?” The blonde questioned, seemingly genuinely intrigued.

Reina recoiled, giving him the most disgusted glare she could manage, “Ew, what? No! I meant their innards body fluids!”

_I don’t think that’s any better._

Vicki looked like she was going to throw up, and, honestly, I couldn’t blame her. What in the hell was wrong with these people? I glanced at Niko, who seemed nonchalant about the whole situation. Did he have a will of steel or something?

“Well, luckily we don’t have to go around searching for vibeetles and squish them up just so we can spray their body liquids on us,” Noran said, and, for the love of everything holy, could they not have said it in a less disturbing way? “They sell it at local vendors around here since there are a lot of popular fruits found in the forest.”

“B-But there aren’t o-only bugs i-in there, r-right?” Vicki stuttered, looking at the brunette worriedly. “Wh-What about the o-other c-creatures?”

“That’s where our magic and sword handling come in!” Reina cheered, holding out a fist excitedly, “I heard from Vicki that her and Terry have been in their classes for a little over a year, so you two definitely have the skills necessary to just beat ‘em up!”

“What about the rest of us?” I pointed out. “Use four,” I said, gesturing to me, Reina, Noran and Niko, “haven’t even been there for a week. How are we supposed to handle ourselves?”

“With our magic, duh!” Reina rolled her eyes, and I was tempted to smack her over to head. “Madam White said that Niko was already some sort of magic prodigy, right? So he’s in the clear, and us three of have the perfect opportunity to practice!”

I closed my eyes, let out a deep, long sigh, and fought the temptation to rub my forehead for the oncoming headache I could feel coming, “Reina, I would like to tell you that what you just said was the single handedly stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.” Before she could retort, I carried on, not letting her speak, “How on Earth did you think that what you just said was going to be a good idea?”

“What’s ‘Earth’?” Terry interjected but was promptly ignored.

“Let’s just go in there and be all like, ‘hey, yeah, I know you like eating people and all, but could you, like, not right now? We have some fruit we need to get and if you could wait for us to come and get it, we’ll be out of your hair in no time’!” I mocked, feeling irritated.

“Well, what better idea do you have, smarty pants?” She hissed, glaring at me.

“Oh, I don’t know, how about _training a bit before we decide to just up and march to our death_?”

“And how’re we gonna do that, huh?”

I shot my hands towards Niko, who looked somewhat shocked at my sudden gesture, “Perhaps by learning from the guy who a _professional teacher _said was good at magic and whatnot?”

“We don’t have time!” The redhead spat, getting more heated as the argument went on. “You’re dying as we speak, and here you are, suggesting that we waste even more time until trying to find the cure that can save your life!”

“It’s better just mine than everyone’s!” My words made everyone go silent, all staring at me with different levels of shock on their faces. I ruffled my hair haphazardly, slightly irritated, “Look, these three didn’t even choose to come on this trip willingly, and you two don’t even know me well enough to be on this journey with me either, let alone die for me.”

Reina opened her mouth to argue, but Noran placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking their head. She growled, but didn’t say anything else, giving me heated glares from where she sat.

“So, how about we do this the smart way and train up a bit before going inside the forest?” I suggested at last, looking at her pleadingly.

She eyed me for a moment before letting out a harsh sigh, folding her arms across her chest. “Fine, but only for a month, got that?”

I nodded, a small smile on my face. “Well, it’s better than nothing.”

The redhead rolled her eyes, and the agreement was settled. I felt myself relax, despite the slight tension still hanging in the air. Hopefully I don’t wind up regretting this decision.


	10. Chapter 10

We had decided that each of us would be taught different things by the twins and Niko. Niko would teach us how to use our magic, Vicki would teach us hand-to-hand combat, which, I know, I was surprised to learn that she was quite the fighter as well, and Terry would teach us strategic and quick thinking while in uncompromising situations. The blonde was actually the one to suggest that, as, while he also had great magical prowess, he didn’t want us to be taught by two different people on the same thing, and he wasn’t much of a physical fighter, so sword practicing and hand-to-hand training was out of the question.

Not only that, be we even planned out when we were going to learn each thing: since I had figured out that there were the same amount of months in this world as there were in Earth and that this particular one we were in right now had thirty-one day and that we were also in the middle of it, I suggested that every other day we would learn from Vicki, the other days would be Niko’s, and Terry would either teach in between them or mix in his training with one of theirs every now and then.

Everyone took to the idea surprisingly well, Noran even complimenting me on it and Vicki praising me in her own, shy way.

“Alright, so we’ll start tomorrow then?” I asked, glancing around.

They all nodded, Reina giving, what I have now dubbed, her signature smirk, “Cool. Well, we’ll be going now. We have a long day tomorrow, so go to bed early and whatever.” She got up and walked up, Vicki scrambling after her, giving us a frantic bow before leaving.

I rolled my eyes and Noran smiled. Terry yawned and pushed himself up from the floor, wobbling over to the bed next to mine and plopping down, promptly falling asleep without even saying goodnight. I felt a yawn of my own creep up the back of my throat and I decided that I should hit the sack as well. I bid the other two goodnight and laid down on my bed, convincing Christi to come and join me, and the two of us fell asleep, Christi curled up to my chest and purring contently as I felt warmer than I had in years when falling asleep.

The next day, Noran, Reina, and I found ourselves watching Niko as he wandered around a nearby bookstore, just standing there as he looked over the thickest books I have ever seen.

“What are we doing here?” Reina finally asked, sounding annoyed, and I couldn’t really blame her; we were woken up at the crack of dawn and dragged to a boring bookstore by the embodiment of a stick-in-the-mud himself.

I had to carefully remove myself from my bed so that I didn’t wake Christi up, dammit. Do you know how hard that is? Let me tell you, it’s easier said than done.

“Since we left on such short notice, I was unable to bring my books with me,” he replied, not looking at us as he studied the pages in a book he was holding.

I almost felt guilty for that, key word being almost. I found myself holding a small grudge over him for insinuating that I thought of myself as some sort of God or something, and could you really blame me? I mean, who even says that to someone you hardly know?

“Though, I suppose that’s not the worst thing that could happen,” he continued, setting the book down and picking up a different one, just as thick as the previous one, “those books are quite old and not as up to date in the current realms of magic. Besides, those were mainly for studying the ways of dark magic, and two of you are unable to use that sort of magic, so it wouldn’t be that much of help.”

“Speaking of which,” Reina cut in, giving Niko her signature man-hating glare, “how come you’re the one teaching us about magic? You can’t use light magic, so how are you supposed to help us?”

Niko shrugged, flipping a page, “Don’t ask me, it was your idiot’s idea.”

Wait, is he talking about me? Am I the idiot? Probably. “Well, just because we don’t know how to use each other’s magic doesn’t mean we can’t help each other,” I supplied, glancing between the two. “Isn’t the way we use it similar to each other in basic format? Sure, we’re bound to have differences, but wouldn’t it be mostly the same, since it’s still all magic in the end?”

Reina clicked her tongue while Noran decided to speak up, their voice hesitant, “Wait, speaking of magic, are you sure you should be training with it, Rye? Isn’t your magic a bit…” They didn’t finish their sentence, but I got the gist of it.

_ Shoot, I forgot about that.  _ Luckily, Niko was the one to reply to the brunette’s question, still not looking up from his book, “Don’t worry. The Avaciderous curse doesn’t affect one’s magic.”

“What? But—” Noran cut the redhead off by slapping a hand over her mouth, giving her a warning glare.

“So, let’s say that… If you were so happening to be practicing your magic when it happened, and your magic went a bit out of control at the same time you were presumably affected by the curse, does that not mean that it’s the curse’s fault that you can’t use your magic properly?” I asked, trying to be as casual as I could.

The black-haired male shook his head, setting the book down and picking up another one. “No. If a situation like that were to occur, you were most likely affected by two spells. The first would be a low-leveled hex that would mess with your ability to control your magic properly for around an hour and that would only be so that you would drop you guard, even if it were for a split second, as that’s all the time the Avaciderous curse needs to embed itself into you.”

“Are they casted at the same time in that situation?” Noran asked, still keeping their hand over Reina’s mouth.

“I would assume so,” Niko murmured, flipping through the book in his hands. “While the higher-powered curse could be cast afterword, it would take a little bit longer to be in effect than it would if sent at the same time as something to just catch the intended victim off guard.”

Reina pulled Noran’s hand off, gulping in a deep breath and glaring at them heatedly. She turned to Niko and put her hands on her hips, slightly leaning forward, “So, how would you know the curse has taken effect?”

“Well, the first think you’d notice is that something would feel off,” he said, glancing at her briefly before going back to his book. “You’d feel as if something was wrong, or that an uncomfortable sensation has entered your body. The feeling’s fairly noticeable, so the sooner you feel it, the sooner the curse has taken effect.” He paused, staring at something for a moment.

“The other symptoms take place a few days after that,” he continued, flipping the page. “Dizziness and loss of appetite are common in these cases, and the victim will begin to get tired faster. These symptoms get worse over the months before new ones pop up, such as vomiting or the occasional blackouts. Around half a year is where most cases of those with the Avaciderous curse are bedridden, unable to move or do any other necessities by themselves.”

I shivered, feeling dread sink into my heart. Half a year…? That was so soon…

“Though, there are some who managed to fight past that and keep themselves steady.” There’s more? Holy hell this curse is complicated. “Around the last three months of their life is when the hallucinations settle in and the victim slowly becomes crazy, steadily losing their minds and eventually killing themselves.”

We froze, letting his words sink in. Say what now?

“They what?” I squeaked out, staring at the shorter male with wide eyes.

Niko didn’t bother sparing me even a glance as he picked up a few other books and turned to the counter, quickly paying for them. “Did you not know? The curse itself doesn’t necessarily kill you, it makes the victim do that themselves.”

“That’s insane!” Reina shouted, swiftly being hushed by the other customers in the store. She didn’t acknowledge them, instead glaring at Niko, her teeth gritted harshly, “What kind of evil, vile curse is that?”

“And how do you know so much about it?” Noran added, eyeing the black-haired male suspiciously.

“I read about it in one of the books I had,” Niko said calmly, walking out the store, the three of us scrambling to follow. “The documented cases are few and far between, but the general conclusion is the same; they all die at their own hand.”

I could honestly feel bile crawling up my throat; so, not only does whoever cursed me want me dead, but they wanted me to be the one to off myself? What kind of mess up crap is that? I decided to change the conversation, as I didn’t want to think about all the possible ways I could go by my own hands.

“Are curses and stuff not classified into any particular magic spectrum or whatever?” I asked, hoping that this would help keep my horrifying thoughts at bay.

“While there are some that can only be used by certain classes, most spells that help or debilitate someone are classified as Null, or something anyone with any magical capabilities can use.” Reina said, looking around at all the outdoor vendors.

“Is that Ava-whatever spell a Null spell?” I asked, glancing at Niko, who had his nose buried deep in one of the books he bought.

“Is it, which is what makes it even more dangerous,” the black-haired male replied, briefly glancing up to see where he was going before looking back at his book.

_ Oh, great, just what I needed—a spell that virtually anyone can use. That only narrows the possibilities to about absolutely everyone.  _ I thought sarcastically, the temptation of banging my head against a wall sounding quite appealing right about now. We continued walking, passing by our hotel, and just outside of town, turning sharply to the right.

“Where are we going?” Noran asked, glancing around.

“I asked around earlier this morning to see if there was any place for us to practice our magic and physical combat safely.” Niko said, closing his book as we entered an empty field, the ground worn and free of any grass, only hard dirt.

That left me with a single question in my mind; just how early does he wake up?

“Well, let’s get started,” he continued, tossing us each a book, myself flailing to catch it and even grunting at how heavy it was. How was he able to throw it around like it was nothing?

“Already?” Noran questioned, looking at the other in shock.

“We only have a month, so it’s better to start now.” He stated simply, flipping open his own book. I just realized we all got the same book. Huh. “These books have spells for each Class, but we’re only going to be focusing on the Star Class ones.”

Well, duh, since two out of the three of us were in Star Class.

“We’ll start with the simply spells,” Niko continued, stopping on a page. “Turn to page three hundred and eighty-seven.”

We did as he told, and I was mortified to see that we didn’t even make a dent in the number of pages in the book. Just how big was this thing?

“First, we have to deduce what ‘class’ of magic your magic is,” Niko said, tapping the page of his book gently. “Other than the magical elements, which is what the classes are based on, there are other ‘types’ or ‘classes’ that your magic can be classified in: attack, defense, and support. Each of those are what you are going to specialize in when you use your magic, meaning that any spell that goes into the category you’re best at will be stronger if you use it.

“That doesn’t mean that you can’t use the other classes,” he continued, looking up at us. “However, if it is not your strong point, it will be significantly weaker. There is a simple way to test what kind of ‘class’ your magic will be categorized in.”

He looked around and walked over to a small plant, plucking it from its spot and bringing it back over to us. The black-haired teen held it out, looking at us expectantly, “All you have to do it focus your magical energy into this flower. It can work with a few other things too, like a glass of water, even if the results may vary slightly, but each will have a similar end goal. And, since we don’t have a glass of water, this flower will have to do.” His eyes turned to Noran, prompting them, “You go first.”

Noran nodded hesitantly, holding out their hand and allowing their magic to flow into the flower. After a few moments, the stem of the flower slowly turned into what looked like steel, the metal slowly coating it until it covered the entire flower. We gaped at the sight, Noran recoiling their hand as if they’d been burnt.

Niko seemed unfazed, and his fingers were untouched by the spell, a quiet hum escaping his throat. “I see… So, Noran, correct?” They nodded. “It seems that you specialize in defensive magic, so we’ll be focusing mostly on that for you.” He tapped his forefinger against the stem of the flower, the metal disappearing instantly. He turned to Reina, still holding the flower out. “You’re next.”

Reina nodded and held her hand out proudly, allowing her magic to seep into the flower. After a few moments, the flower burst into flames, the stem magically untouched. However, the flames didn’t seem to be hurting the flower, but I wasn’t about to try and touch it to make sure. Niko hummed again, once again tapping the flower, putting the fire out immediately.

“It seems you specialize in offensive magic,” he told her, and I don’t think any of us were all that surprised. In fact, if she  _ weren’t _ an offensive magic user, I think I’d riot.

Finally, he turned to me, the flower still intact in his hand. “You.” Just you? Also, is it just me, or am I always the last one for these kinds of things?

I swallowed, taking in a deep breath through my nose, and put up my hand. Alright, so, according to Niko, my magic shouldn’t go crazy, so that’s good… However, how do I put my “magic” into this flower? I only got the light thing thanks to Christi, and she isn’t here now, so…  _ Maybe I should think of it as, like, turning on a hose or something?  _ I thought hesitantly, frowning.  _ I mean, it’s worth a shot?  _ So, I did just that; I imagined seeing my magic coming out like water from a hose, and I could actually feel something emitting from me, much to my surprise.

My magic flowed into the flower, and, almost instantaneously, the flower grew into a large sprout, Niko quickly dropping it from his hand and all of us watched grow into a much larger version of itself, its stem thickening and flower folding in on itself, turning into a large mouth with sharp teeth. I was dumbfounded, to say the least, while we all just stood there, staring at it in shock.

“What. The. Fuck.” Reina breathed out, gawking at the now twenty-something foot plant.

I laughed nervously, looking over at Niko, “So, uh… What am I in?”

Niko glared at me, bristling at my words, but didn’t snap at me, “I don’t know; I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Why was he mad at me? It wasn’t my fault! Well, I mean, it kind of is, but I didn’t mean to!

“How do you get rid of this?” Noran asked worriedly.

“Maybe I can just… take it back?” I wondered aloud, placing my hand on the stem and was instantly invaded by a rush of warmth slamming into me and the flower shrunk back down to its normal size and appearance.

Niko sent me another heated glare as he snatched the flower from my hand harshly, making me stumble slightly. O-kay? What was that about?

“So,” I cleared my throat, hopping to defuse the tense-growing situation. “What do you specialize in, Niko?”

He eyed me distastefully, like he didn’t want to answer my question, but reluctantly did it anyway, “Supportive. I’m able to make someone more powerful or weaker depending on what I choose.” He held out the flower and soon it bloomed beautifully, an ethereal glow emitting from the brightly colored petals. Wait, it wasn’t bloomed from before? Jeez, I really need to pay more attention to my surroundings… Or was it not, and then it reverted back? I don’t even know anymore.

“So, we’re all different in our magic classes,” Reina started glancing around us, “so how are we supposed to learn anything from you?”

“Were you not listening to anything I said?” Niko snapped, exasperated. “I’m not incapable of using other magic, and neither are any of you; it’s just that it will be weaker than what I specialize in.”

Reina huffed and crossed her arms, matching the shorter male’s glare with one of her own.

“Well, we should get started, right?” I cut in, not really wanting to clean up the potential mess those two could create if left to go on their tangents.

Niko gave the redhead with one more heated glare before returning his eyes to his book. “Right. So, we’ll start with the girl, since she clearly thinks she’s all that.”

She scoffed at his tone, straightening herself.

“Since you’re an offensive type, you’ll be learning the basics of that class and the simple spells that class had to offer.” Niko continued, flipping through the pages quickly. “Let’s go to page four hundred and twenty-one.” He flipped through around a hundred pages that fast?

We did as he said, and I honestly didn’t know what I expected when I just stared at the page blankly, unable to read a word it said. Is there a spell so that I could just learn their language instantly?

“The first spell you’ll be learning is simple; just forming your magic into a weapon, such as a sword, so that you can use it just like any normal weapon. While this is mainly for offensive type users, defensive users can do this as well with around the same result, albeit a bit weaker if they’re making a weapon instead of a shield or something, so you two can practice this as well.” Niko explained, looking up at us.

Noran nodded while Reina rolled her eyes, probably thinking she’s got this. I didn’t do anything, as I was slightly nervous about how the outcome might turn out, seeing as how my last two attempts with magic produced the weirdest results.

“Alright, try it.” He said, eyeing us expectantly.

Reina was the first to try anything, thrusting her arm out and focusing her magic into the palm of her hand. After a moment, a sword slowly formed in front of her hand, light particles melding together to create the weapon. Noran had started a few seconds after their redheaded friend, holding both of his hands out slightly, a shield forming in their hands. I didn’t know what I wanted, really, so I waited for a minute before attempting anything. I just kind of thought how cool it’d be to have something like a scythe and imagined one and, before I knew it, I held a long, intimidating scythe in my hands.

I looked down at it, blinked, and looked over at the other three, who were all staring back at me.

“Rye, are you just gonna keep showing the rest of us up?” Reina complained, glaring at the yellowish white, glowing scythe in my hands.

I gave her a sheepish smile, offering her a small shrug, “My bad?”

If looks could kill, I’m pretty sure I’d be dead multiple times over by the look Niko was giving me. He glared at me like I had just offended his entire family before promptly looking away, ignoring my existence. Well, isn’t that kind of him.

“Alright, since you can summon your weapons, trying fighting with them,” he said, summoning small beasts no bigger than the size of a bunny made out of darkness, glowing yellow eyes staring at us from the deep abyss that was their body.

Without warning, they attacked, leaving us to scramble to protect ourselves. One jumped at me and I quickly lashed out my scythe, somehow managing to cut the creature in half, watching it dissipate into thin air. However, that didn’t seem to matter much as more rushed forward in the fallen one’s place. Reina was slashing her sword around wildly, yet with precision, cutting through and knocking away creatures left and right. Noran was having a bit of a harder time, as he was only able to knock the bunny-esque creatures away with his shield.

“Summon a sword!” Niko shouted to the brunette, summoning more creatures. “Just because you’re a defensive user doesn’t mean you can’t use offensive magic!”

Noran nodded frantically, trying to summon a sword, but was constantly interrupted by creatures as they flung themselves towards them. I was beginning to get worried for them, since I knew that you had to concentrate to be able to properly use your magic, so I rushed over to help them, effectively cutting through multiple creatures at once with a single swing.

They gave me an appreciative smile before finally summoning a sword, the glow much dimmer than either mine or Reina’s, but was going to have to do for now. I threw myself back into the fray, internally praying for Noran to have good luck. We continued on like that for around half an hour before the onslaught stopped, all three of us covered in sweat and exhausted, having our magic constantly drained to keep up the weapon’s appearance.

Niko gave us a one-over before summoning more creatures, much to our dismay, “It seems that you’ve all gotten a little bit better with your reflexes, but we’re not done yet. We still have the rest of the day ahead of us.”

We all groaned, regretting our life decisions up until that point. Just what did I sign ourselves up for?


	11. Chapter 11

I’d never been so grateful to lay on a bed in my entire life until that night, after having showered to remove the grime and shame of the “training” I had endured thanks to Niko, who put all three of us to shame by how effortlessly he’d manage to summon those beasts in such a constant, staggering amount. Is this what death feels like? If it is, I don’t like it. I threw myself on my bed, thankful that Christi had moved before I plowed on top of her. She gave me a worried stare, examining my expression.

_“Are you alright?” _She asked, hopping up next to me.

“Jus’ tired…” I mumbled, smushing my face into the pillow. I glanced over at her as she curled up to my side. “Where’ve you been?”

_“I decided to leave you be for today, thinking that it was best for you to be taught without any distractions.” _She replied, laying her head on my back. _“It seems that maybe I should not have. You seem to be quite exhausted.”_

“Tell me about it,” I grunted, adjusting myself slightly, barely hearing Noran and Niko entering the room.

Soon after they entered the room, the lights went out and they promptly went to sleep. I was about to join them in that endeavor before I remembered something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. _Hey, Christi?_

_“Yes?”_

_I need to tell you something._

She adjusted herself, turning her head so that she could properly look at me. _“Oh? And what would that be?”_

I breathed in deeply and let it out slowly before continuing. _Would you believe me if I said that… I’m not actually a part of this world?_

My question was met with silence. I refused to look her in the eye, worried that she might be looking at me like I was crazy. However, her answer was soft, kind.

_“I would believe you.” _She said, giving me a reassuring purr. _“I am not going to sit here and tell you I knew, but there were a few assumptions I have made that suggested that you were at least sheltered while growing up.”_

I snorted quietly, the mere idea of being “sheltered” amusing me. _Sheltered? Yeah, right._

Christi trilled at my response, seemingly amused as well. _“So? Is there a reason you have trusted me with this information now?”_

_I wanted to tell you for a while, _I admitted, _but I kept forgetting. I just remembered now, so, yeah…_

The faeyr purred quietly, accepting my answer. We stayed quiet for a moment more before I continued, _I also want you to know my… well, I want you to know what my life was like before coming here._

_“Then, you can allow us to share our previous memories,” _Christi suggested kindly, giving my cheek a quick lick, _“only if you want to, of course.”_

I sucked in a quick breath, her suggestion catching me off guard. I didn’t even think of the possibility that we could share our memories with each other, but since we _were _bonded, I guess it only made sense… Besides, it’d be easier than trying to explain it to her, since I was never the best with words. I gave a quick, short nod, letting her know that I was fine with it. She purred quietly, moving forward slightly and gently pressing her nose against me, cold and wet to the touch.

Before I could fully comprehend it, a sudden flash of images flooded my mind, images of hatching from a beautiful white egg with crystal blue patters on the bottom, exploring the world for the very first time, taking the first flight, the joys of it all, the sorrows of losing friends to hunters and the fear of having to protect the life that was just given in a world virtually unknown at this point. I was left with a sense of wonder after it all, happiness and sadness coiling around my heart and melting into a calming mellow feeling. I suddenly felt tired after our exchange, and I looked over to see Christi crying, tears creating dark streaks in her furry cheeks.

She looked up at me, her pure blue eyes portrayed with so much sadness and anger I was actually taken by surprise. I opened my mouth, attempting to say something, _anything _of comfort, but she beat me to it.

_“You…” _her voice was barely above a whisper, so quiet that, even though it was being said in my own mind, I was barely able to hear it. _“You have gone through such excruciating pain… and yet, you continue to smile, to act as if none of it had ever happened.”_

I gave her a small smile, _it’s the only thing you can do during times like that… It’s kind of like mind over matter at that point; “if I say it enough times, I’ll eventually begin to believe it myself”. That sort of thing._

The faeyr pressed deeply against me, giving me a comforting purr, as if in hopes to ease the past pain I had felt. _“I am so sorry you had to go through that… And that man you called your father,” _her pupils turned to slits for a split second, anger flaring up in her eyes, _“he has no right to be referred to as such. What he has done… it is unforgivable.”_

I didn’t respond to that. I suppose she was right; with how much my dad beat me and berated me on such a regular basis, I suppose I shouldn’t be feeling any sort of empathy towards him, and yet… There was a small part of me, that tiny part of my mind that wished for things to go back to normal, that believed my dad still loved me. Stupid, right? But… even I can’t change that childish wish. No kid wants to admit that their parents don’t love them.

_I still don’t understand something, _I began, getting Christi’s attention and wanting to change the subject. _Sir Rennings gave that book to me, but he’s a part of this world… How is that possible? And why give it to me?_

Christi trilled in thought, a contemplative look taking over her expression. _“I have heard of being able to travel to alternate dimensions, though I did not know that our world is nothing more than a book in yours. I suppose those ‘dimensions’ are simply the ability to leave our world into yours. Though, I have heard that those spells are few and far between and are extremely convoluted, nearly impossible to master. I suppose that just shows how much power this ‘Rennings’ human has._

_“As for why giving it to you,” _she continued, lowering her head to rest it on her front paws. _“I cannot say for certain, but I believe that he was able to see, not only the power you possess, but that you were having a hard time in your world and maybe just wanted to give you an escape, to allow you to be somewhere where you could start over.”_

_Start over…?_

_“As I said, I am not certain, but, if I were in his position, I believe I would have done the same thing.” _She purred. _“To see someone in your situation, though not able to see your whole backstory and only the defeated and broken-down aura you possessed yet still clinging to a strong sense of hope… I would want to give you a chance to be somewhere better, somewhere you would feel safe… Somewhere where you felt like you belonged.”_

I was silent, letting the faeyr’s words sink in. Somewhere I felt like I belonged, huh? _What if this isn’t that place?_

_“Then I suppose you could return home,” _Christi replied, glancing at me. _“I am your familiar; I will respect any wish you choose. If you feel that being here is not where you are meant to be, then I will do whatever is in my power to help you return home. I only wish for your happiness.”_

I smiled slightly, a feeling of warmth spreading throughout my body. _Thanks, Christi._

She purred, nuzzling up to me, _“Of course. Now, sleep. Before we think of the future, we must rid you of that curse.”_

I nodded and wiggled a bit, getting a bit more comfortable in the bed I laid in. _You’re right. Goodnight._

_“Goodnight.”_

_ _

_ _

_ _

“Get up, loser!”

I felt something slam into my stomach and I huffed out a pained grunt, jolting up and looking around wildly. I looked down and saw Terry laying on top of me, Christi bristling on the end of the bed, glaring at the short human. I was swallowing in air to fill out for what I had just lost and gave the blonde an annoyed glare of my own.

Terry didn’t seem bothered by either of our looks and just offered us a smug grin, “It’s time for your training. Also, it’s a she/her day today.”

With that, she rolled off and bounded out the door. I groaned loudly and pulled my blanket off of me, hurrying to take a quick shower before following her out the door. Christi joined me this time, though one of her main reasons was to give Terry a piece of her mind after such a rude awakening. It was only after we exited out hotel that we had no idea where we were meeting up and none of the others were waiting for us. Not even Terry was there.

“How did she leave so fast…?” I grumbled.

Christi only flicked the tip of her tail, her way of telling me she had no idea. I sighed and trudged forward. Well, might as well check the place we went yesterday. Thankfully, that was the right place to go, as the others were already there. Noran gave me an apologetic smile while Reina huffed, her arms already crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.

“Took you long enough!” She snapped, glaring at me.

“It’s not my fault that no one told me when we were leaving, and that no one bothered to wait for me,” I mumbled under my breath, sleep still ever present in my system.

The faeyr to my side sniffed in agreement, just as annoyed with them as I was right now.

“S-Sorry,” Vicki apologized, eyes glistening with tears, “I-I wanted t-to wait for yo-you, but Reina s-said that you would w-wake up soon e-enough.”

I shot her a quick smile, shaking my head. “It’s fine, Vicki. Just a warning next time would be appreciated.”

She nodded her head so much and so fast I was worried it was going to come flying off. I actually felt a bit guilty.

Reina scoffed at me, flipping her hair from her shoulder. “Whatever. It’s obviously the earlier we get to it, the more we get done.”

I shot her a glare, too tired for her attitude, “Yeah, I get that, but I’d like to least be informed of your gracious plans.”

She sent me a glare of her own and we stood there, staring each other down. Vicki was quick to diffuse the statement, waving her hands around frantically.

“L-L-Let’s just get t-to training, o-okay?”

We huffed and pointedly looked away from each other, not willing to apologize to the other. Noran watched our exchange worriedly while Terry and Niko looked unbothered. The blonde played with her dress that she wore, catching my attention.

“Oh, I didn’t notice you were wearing a dress. It looks good on you,” I complimented, a small smile playing on my lips.

She gave me an impish grin, placing her hands on her hips. “Of course it does.”

It was a plain pale green dress with a few frills lining the bottom of it as well as the sleeves and collar. She wore a dark green choker, looking just the right fit for her. I had to admit, despite its simplicity, it looked really good. Her hair was also free from her ponytail and hung loosely down her back, her glasses the same as ever.

“W-We sh-should get s-started.” Vicki spoke up again, her nervous posture unchanged. She looked around the group, twiddling her fingers in a nervous habit, “U-Um, let’s g-get into gr-roups?”

We all nodded and followed her orders. Reina immediately picked Noran while Terry chose Niko, for no other reason than she was curious about his skill set that didn’t pertain to magic. So, that left me with Vicki; not that I minded, but she was the one who was said to be the best at hand-to-hand combat in the group, so I was expecting to get my butt whopped ten times out of ten.

“A-Alright,” the stuttering girl began, glancing around at us once more, “ph-physical combat i-isn’t really that h-hard. J-Just make sure to w-watch your opponent c-carefully and adjust y-your hits accordingly.”

We all nodded again, and she gave a small, relieved smile. “A-Alright, so l-let’s just practice wh-what we know for a little wh-while and Terry and I-I will tell you what you n-need to work on.”

With a final nod, we all got into position, making sure to give the other groups enough room for their fights. I kind of just stood there, staring at Vicki dumbly while the others began their fights; I’ve never been in a fist fight before, so I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

I smiled hesitantly, rubbing the back of my neck nervously, “Hey, uh, Vicki?”

She tilted her head, prompting me to continue.

I took in a deep breath and shuffled on my feet, “I, uh… I’ve actually never been in a physical fist fight before? I mean, I’ve seen them plenty of times, but I, uh, I’ve never been in one myself…”

The brunette stared at me for a moment before a dawning of understanding crossed her features, her mouth opening into an ‘o’ shape. “O-Oh…”

“Yeah…” I really didn’t know what to say, and Christi flicked her tail in amusement, the faeyr sitting a little way away to watch.

Vicki gave me a reassuring smile, slowly walking towards me, “W-Well, l-let’s start si-imple. Could you m-make a fist for m-me?”

I nodded and did as she asked. She peered down at my hand, tilting her head to the side, a quiet hum vibrating in the back of her throat.

“You sh-should hold your h-hand like that,” she told me, gently taking my hand in hers, adjusting it as I relaxed my fingers. “You w-want to have your kn-knuckles in front of your fingers, o-or else you’ll br-reak it.” She curled my fingers back down, carefully wrapping my thumb around the bottom of my curled fingers. “A-Also, try not to keep your fist s-so tight. It-It’ll cut off circulation.”

I nodded, slightly awed by her knowledge, though I knew rationally that I shouldn’t; she was chosen to teach us this for a reason. She continued to instruct me on how to properly throw a punch, suggesting that I not aim for the head and instead go for the body or throat. The whole time, I noticed that she continued to stutter, even as she relaxed in my presence. So, I did what I was best at: asking a super insensitive question because I have no brain to mouth filter.

“Do you have a stutter?” I asked before I could think better of it, pausing my motions when I realized what I said.

Apparently even the others heard my question, as Reina yelled at me about something about time and place or whatever as she avoided a punch from Noran, the later also giving me a disappointed glance. _Well, fuck me. _Vicki just blinked at me in surprise before smiling, a soft giggle escaping her lips.

“I-It’s fine, I-I know you di-idn’t mean any h-harm.” She said. “Y-Yes, I do have a s-stutter. It’s a-a lot better now tha-an it used to be.”

I nodded, “That’s good… Sorry about that, by the way. I don’t really have a brain to mouth filter.” I gave her a sheepish smile and she just giggled.

“Th-That’s okay.” And with that, the conversation ended, thank whatever deity was out there.

She continued to teach me the proper way to hold out my arm, making any adjustments she saw fit so that I wouldn’t wind up hurting myself more than my opponent. The sun was setting by the time I threw a relatively decent punch, and Vicki looked really happy for me.

“I-It’s amazing to see so-omeone who’s never f-fought before get it so-o quick!” She praised, eyes alight with a childlike happiness.

I smiled and ruffled her hair instinctively; she felt like what it would be like to have a little sister. She didn’t seem put off by my action and just beamed at me, which made me smile back.

“Hey, Terry, if you’re not careful, I might steal your sister,” I called out to the blonde, making the shorter brunette blush madly.

She laughed, shaking her head, “Over my dead body!”

Vicki’s face easily resembled that of a tomato at our teasing, frantically waving her hands around, incoherent words tumbling from her lips. We both just laughed good heartedly, and I patted her on the back, telling her I was just joking. She huffed and puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms over her chest, but I could see that she was trying – and failing – to fight back a smile. Reina and Noran joined me by my side while Niko and Christi took up the rear, both content with just watching us.

The redhead gave me a mischievous smirk, raising an eyebrow teasingly, “So, Vicki, huh?”

I frowned, confused by her words. “What about her?”

“You two seemed pretty close,” she hummed, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

“Well, yeah, she was teaching me how to fight,” I said, not really getting her point.

“Oh, c’mon, we can all see there was a bit more than that,” the ginger-haired female teased.

I shook my head, “No, there really wasn’t… In fact, she’s like the little sister I never had.”

Reina huffed, rolling her eyes, “You’re no fun.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

Noran smiled, “She may not seem like it, but she loves playing matchmaker and talking about people’s crushes. It’s definitely not what you’d expect from someone like her.” The brunette received a harsh punch to the shoulder, laughing as they apologized to their friend.

I had to agree with them, though; Reina definitely didn’t seem like the kind of person to care about other’s love lives, especially since she didn’t like guys that much. _Though, she’s not giving me the cold shoulder any more, _I thought to myself, glancing at her.

_“Perhaps she doesn’t see you as a man,” _Christi chimed in, a playful tone in her voice.

I shot her a glare, pursing my lips as she chuckled in the back of my mind. _Wow, thanks._

We made our way back to the hotel and parted ways, Terry joining the girls for the night. Noran opened our hotel room and I made my way to my bed, plopping down, the exhaustion finally kicking in.

“I wouldn’t sleep now, Rye,” Noran warned, making me glance at them. “You’ve gone to bed the past few nights without eating anything, and I’m beginning to worry.”

I slowly blinked, letting their words sink in. Oh, that’s right. My stomach rumbled at my sudden realization and I blushed as the brunette laughed, making me pout slightly.

“’S not my fault…” I mumbled dejectedly, “’sides, I’ve gone longer without eating.”

That earned me curious glances from the other two males in the room and Christi just shot me a worried look as I snapped my mouth closed. _Curse my damn runny mouth._

“Well, let’s get you something to eat,” Noran said, their voice leaving no room for arguments. “I think Niko said he was going to cook tonight.”

“What?” The black-haired male questioned, giving the Star Class male a questioning stare. Noran gave him a pleading stare and the other caved in letting out a sigh. “Fine.”

“Thanks,” the other beamed, Niko promptly ignoring them to go into the small kitchen.

I rolled to my side, curiosity brimming under my skin, “Niko knows how to cook?”

“He cooked for us the first night,” Noran explained, taking a seat on their bed. “He’s really good at it, you know? Says he learned because his parents made him.”

I nodded, knowing that feeling all too well. Well, most likely not for the same reasons, but I knew what it was like having to learn something because of what your parents did or didn’t do. Now, I wasn’t a cooking genius, but I knew how to cook a few things here and there because of my father’s changing preferences and the need to, well, _survive. _Also, maybe just a bit because I liked how they tasted; sue me.

Noran and I continued chatting idly about nothing in particular, Christi joining us a little while later after having had chatted with the other girls for a bit. The faeyr made herself comfortable on my bed, curling up into a ball of fluff, falling asleep not too soon after. I could tell that Noran was trying to subtly coax me into explaining in further detail about what I meant when I said I’d gone longer without food, but I managed to keep my answers vague and nondescript. I didn’t quite trust them that much yet, and, even if I did, I wouldn’t want to burden them with my ‘super sad backstory’. _Cue the sarcastic remarks._

Soon enough, a delicious scent began to waft in the air, and I could feel my mouth pooling with saliva. Niko had just finished placing the last plate on the table when I jumped up, eager to begin eating, before Noran grabbed onto my shoulder. I shot them a questioning look and they just snorted, pointing towards the sink. Oh, right, I had to wash my hands first. I hastily did it, wanting to hurry up and eat. Noran laughed while Niko looked disgusted at my antics and I wiped my hands clean before diving towards the table, quickly beginning to eat.

I took a bite of what looked to be a normal biscuit and I shuddered, the food tasting even better than it smelt. “This is so good…!”

Niko rolled his eyes, washing his hands after Noran, and sitting down to eat as well. Noran agreed with me, thanking the dark-haired male before eating. I hastily thanked Niko as well, my mouth full of food as I did so, just earning a disgusted glare in return. I mean, it probably wasn’t the politest thing to do, but I was really hungry, and the food tasted as if the heaven’s themselves made it. I eagerly bit into some sort of meat, relishing in the flavor, not paying attention to the slight twitch in my arm, the feeling of something off pushed aside.


	12. Chapter 12

Two weeks.

It took me two weeks of magic and combat training before I decided to do something about my inability to read anything this world had to offer. In all honesty, it got a tad annoying that I wasn’t able to read what Niko was trying to teach me from the book he got, and the only reason I was able even to seem like I knew what I was doing was because I observed what Reina and Noran were doing and had Christi help me with what she was able to infer. It was getting a tad bit annoying to say the least, and even I could tell that I wasn’t using my full potential because of it.

I decided after a harsh training session with Vicki and Terry, the latter having joined halfway through just to make it harder, like they were meant to do, that I was going to figure out how to at least read the strange language this world had – despite the fact that they spoke perfect English, which I don’t know why I didn’t question until now. Well, that was the plan, but I had a small, miniscule problem: I had no idea how I was going to do that.

After a bit of subtle prodding, I was able to get out from Noran – who was the easiest to persuade, sorry buddy – that, as children, a magic spell was cast on them so that they are able to read and write, so that there would be more time for learning what they deemed more important, that of which I wasn’t able to get since Niko called the break over and we had to go back to training. I never got a chance to ask them any more questions as Vicki and Niko upped the difficulty since we were already halfway through the month of training. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place because, though I needed to learn how to read, I needed to be able to read around for the spell that could help.

Big surprise with that:  _ I couldn’t find the spell since I couldn’t read anything.  _ It was slowly getting frustrating and it was already the end of the second week, nearing the third, and I still had no leads to starting to find that spell. I couldn’t just ask the others; not only was that, quite frankly,  _ super embarrassing _ , I managed to get a small snippet from Vicki that only parents were given that spell to learn, as no one else would really need it. If the parents didn’t have any magic ability, they’d usually just go to others who did, or someone in higher power because they usually were able to simply look up the spell.

That didn’t really make any sense to me, but who am I to judge? I wasn’t born in this world, after all. So, I sat there on my bed, wide away while the other three slept, Christi by my side, unable to sleep due to my overactive mind.

“Sorry for keeping you up,” I apologized for the third time that night, ruffling my hair, agitated.

_ “It’s fine,”  _ she assured, giving me a reassuring lick on my arm.  _ “I understand your frustrations.” _

I sighed heavily, letting my shoulders slump. “It’s just that… I wish I at least knew  _ someone  _ who could help me with this, you know?”

The faeyr gave a contemplative hum, resting her chin on my thigh. We sat there in silence, the only sounds coming from the soft breathing in the room. After a few minutes, an idea suddenly struck me, one I chastised myself for not thinking about earlier: Sir Rennings!

“Hey, Christi, we’re back on the island Sir Rennings was on, right?” I whispered excitedly, a wide grin forming on my lips.

She blinked and looked up at me, understanding dawning on her features, her tail flicking in excitement.  _ “Yes… Yes we are!” _

“Then, couldn’t he help up?” I asked, trying my hardest to keep my voice as quiet as possible so that I didn’t wake the others up.

The familiar nodded, her enthusiasm running in the back of my mind,  _ “I believe so!” _

_ Then, we’ll go talk to him tomorrow!  _ I told her through our link, not trusting my mouth at the moment. I’m pretty sure I’d have yelled out in eagerness. I was feeling like a child who just got a bag of candy at this point. Slipping under my covers, I willed myself to sleep, though I could tell that I wasn’t going to any time soon. Christi purred in amusement, but I knew that she was having the same problem as well. A week’s worth of suffering for an idea only for it to smack me in the face… Who wouldn’t feel excited about that?

I closed my eyes, shutting them as tightly as I could in hopes that it’d make me fall asleep faster.  _ Hurry and let it be morning already! _

Note to self: be careful of what you wish for. Thanks to my eagerness the previous night, I wasn’t able to get a wink of sleep, and now I just felt like murdering everyone. I was never a fan of the bitterness of coffee, but I’d be damned if I couldn’t use some of it right now. Literally anything and everything ticked me off and I wanted to strangle everyone I ran in to.

Through some stream of miracles, I managed to convince Vicki and the rest that I had something I needed to do, so I’d be late for training. Vicki didn’t seem bothered while Reina gave me a scoff, Noran and Niko also unbothered with my statement. So, I left with Christi, saying I’ll make it up to them and hurried to where I remembered Sir Rennings’ building being. I would swear that there was some sort of, well,  _ magic  _ going on, as I just realized that we landed in the same town Sir Rennings saw us off from.

Talk about dumb luck, huh? I’d better appreciate it now; cause heaven above knows it’s not going to last forever. Christi was able to sniff out the right building, and I began to wonder how she knew about this place in the first place… She was the one to bring me here when I first arrived in this world, after all. Am I ever going to get a solid answer for most of the questions I had? Probably not. We walked up to the counter, greeted by a different person than last time.

“Hello sir,” the woman greeted, a familiar customer service smile on her bright pink lips. “Are you here to make an appointment?”

I nodded, “Uh, yeah. I’d like to make an appointment with a Sir Rennings…?”

“Of course.” She began to write something down, dark skin glowing in the artificial light. Once she was done, she looked back up at me, handing me the paper with something written on it. “Here you go; please wait until your name is called.”

I thanked her and walked over to a seat, making sure no one was too close to me, before plopping down, Christi sitting at my feet. I let out a silent sight, my heart thumping against my ribs; I was beginning to feel nervous. Why? Well, I couldn’t really say. Christi didn’t point out the jitteriness I was beginning to feel, and instead stayed quiet, a calming presence in the back of my mind letting me know that she was here for me. I was internally grateful for her and was shocked about how quickly I was beginning to relax around her and trust her more than usual.

Was it because of our bond? I didn’t know, but I wasn’t really going to complain; it was nice to have someone to fall back on. Someone who wouldn’t judge you, no matter what. Christi purred happily, preening at my feelings. I could feel a blush creep up on my cheeks;  _ oh, right, she can read my thoughts and stuff. How do I keep forgetting about that?  _ She sniffed in amusement, giving me a quick glance, fondness gleaming in her bright eyes. I smiled in spite of myself, relaxing even more, the nervousness I previously felt slowly ebbing away.

We sat in content silence while time seemed to move along ever so slowly. I watched as people came and went in odd intervals from when their names were called, not really paying attention to any of them nor the times they went in or left. All I was able to tell was that the timing for each one differed, sometimes in great intervals, sometimes in very small ones. A guy just got through with whatever he was there for, probably having been in his assigned room for around fifteen minutes or so, I couldn’t tell.

I just sat there, letting my mind wander, timing flying by while still seeming to take forever. A few more people were called in before I finally heard my own name. I jolted up, being startled from my comatose state at suddenly hearing my name. Christi flicked her ear, mirth flickering in her eyes as we walked towards the room we were called to. I pouted at her and she gave me a good hearted flick of her tail.

Once we entered, we were met with the sight of Sir Rennings doing paperwork, even as we walked in. He only paused when the door was shut, glancing up at us. Green eyes looked me over and a surprised look overtook his features.

“It seems that you are in quite the spot of predicament,” he mumbled, eyeing me over once more.

I bit back a sigh, all but slumping in the chair in front of him. “Tell me about it… but, that’s not what I’m here for.”

“Oh?” He leaned forward, raising an eyebrow. “And what, pray tell, did you come here for?”

“I’d like for you to cast the spell that allows me to be able to read whatever language this place had written in its books and stuff.” I demanded, giving him a steely gaze.

The older man didn’t seem perturbed; instead, he leaned back, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Ah, yes, I suppose that would help.”

I huffed, rolling my eyes, “You think?”

“Pardon me for forgetting,” he apologized, getting up and walking towards me. “I shall fix that now.”

He placed a hand over my forehead and, within a second, a light flashed and disappeared as quickly as it came. Information bombarded my brain, and I felt slightly dizzy for a moment, not expecting that. I blinked rapidly multiple times, hoping to disperse the dizziness.

“Is that all you wished of me?” The dark-haired male asked, sitting back down.

“Well, I do have  _ one  _ question…” I began, rubbing my temples between my fingers gently. “Why does everyone here speak English? Shouldn’t they be speaking, oh, I don’t know, whatever language they’re writing in?”

“Halven?” He asked, and I just shrugged; I didn’t know what their language was. The man simply hummed, thrumming his fingers against the arm of his chair. “I suppose that you make a far point, but let me ask this: what story have you read that has the characters actually speaking a made-up language?”

I opened my mouth to answer only to have it snap shut. I tried to think back to any story where a character spoke in a language that wasn’t native to Earth, and I couldn’t come up with anything besides short snippets or phrases a character in them might reference.

“It is not that we aren’t speaking the language native to this world,” he continued, “but, in the eyes of a reader, we are still simply speaking the language they are reading the words in. The reason we write in it is because what we write usually has no significance to the story in whole and is still told in the language the author has written in gist of what we’ve written. So, while what you hear may be English, it is simply because of the language this world was written in.”

_ That… makes sense.  _ I only nodded, not sure what to say to that. Sir Rennings just gave me a patient smile and got up, walking over to me and patting my shoulder gently. “Now, I believe you have other matters to attend to, do you not?”

“Ah, yeah,” I quickly got up, giving the man a polite nod, “Thank you.” I left before he could reply, Christi following me quietly.

My previous exhaustion and dizziness were momentarily forgotten as I replayed Sir Rennings’ words in my head, flabbergasted that I hadn’t thought about what he had mentioned even a little bit before. Christi coated me back to the group, as I was too distracted at the moment to bother paying attention to where I was going. When we arrived, we watched as Reina fell to the ground gracelessly, her back slamming against the dirt harshly, the wind knocked out of her lungs as she coughed roughly.

I winced, my thoughts reigning in once I saw that; our training was getting really,  _ really  _ rough as of late. Noran and Niko were panting, presumably also having gone through Vicki’s tough regime, leaving Vicki herself and Terry looking unbothered. Vicki was profusely apologizing to Reina while Terry snickered behind his hand, a mischievous glint in his tired eyes, a dim light fading from his palm. He must have used a power boosting spell for Vicki… Poor Reina. We walked up to them, the brown-haired female helping the ginger-haired girl up.

“Sorry we’re late,” I said as we neared them, an apologetic smile on my face as I waved slightly at them.

Vicki shook her head, looking up at me and smiling. “Th-That’s fine! A-Are you re-eady?”

I nodded and opened my mouth to reply before my body convulsed and I felt bile rise to my throat, the dizziness from before coming back ten-fold. I rushed to a nearby bush and heaved up whatever my stomach forced to rise back up, a foul taste clinging to my taste buds when I finished. The other Christi, Noran, and Vicki ran up to me in worry, the other three wearing grim expressions on their faces.

“R-Rye, are you o-okay?” Vicki asked worriedly, looking me over.

I wanted to say something,  _ anything _ , but no words could form as my vision swam around wildly, my consciousness fading in and out rapidly until I collapsed the ground, my conscious finally slipping from me, the shouts of the others echoing in my ears as I was consumed by darkness.

_ I sat in a meadow on a picnic blanket, letting the soft wind brush through my hair, the warm sunlight kissing my skin. The grass and flowers surrounding me swayed and danced gently to a silent tune. I looked around, seeing nothing but grass as far as the eye could see. I could feel myself relaxing immensely; this place felt warm, safe. Though, I couldn’t really remember why I was here… How did I get here? Why am I here? _

_ My eyes lowered to my legs, which seemed shorter than they should be, but… why? A slight rustle caught my attention and I glanced to the side to see a woman sitting next to me. She had golden blonde hair with soft curls that rolled down her shoulders and created a gentle halo around her hips as it lay on the blanket. She wore a pristine white dress, the collar wrapping around her neck and the ends crossing over one another as they connected to the main part of the dress. _

_ There was an oval-shaped opening over her chest, and, though it didn’t expose much of anything, it was still enough to make me blush and hastily look away. The dress draped over her legs as she sat on her knees, her skin lightly tanned, glowing in the sun’s light. I looked up to her face and noticed a warm smile on her pastel pink lips, her white eyes as pure as her dress. All in all, she was the definition of beauty. I stared at her awkwardly, not sure what to say. _

_ She smiled kindly at me and held out her arms, thin, loose white straps lacing them. “Come here, Rye.” Her voice was soft, tender. _

_ I felt my body move forward on its own, despite the fact that I had no idea who she was. However, I could feel that she meant no harm; that she was safe. I crawled onto her lap, resting my head on her shoulder as she embraced me in a comforting hug. She ran her fingers through my hair, the sensation calming as I relaxed in her arms. _

_ “There, there,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. “You are safe… but, you should not be here.” _

_ I tilted my head, so I could look at her properly, a slight frown on my face. What did she mean? _

_ “This is not where you are meant to be,” she continued, rubbing my back in small, gentle strokes. “It is not good for you to stay here for too long.” _

_ I opened my mouth, wanting to ask her what she meant, but I found that I couldn’t say anything. No words formed, no matter how hard I tried to articulate them. _

_ “Do not fear,” she whispered, her delicate fingers brushing through my hair. “Everything will be alright… You just need to wake up.” _

_ But what if I don’t want to? I wanted to say, what if I wanted to stay here? _

_ Though I didn’t say anything, she answered my questions anyway, as if she could read my mind, “I’m afraid that cannot happen. You are not meant to be here.” _

_ Then where am I meant to be? _

_ She smiled warmly at me, hugging me a bit tighter, “You are meant to be with those that care for you. I am aware that you may not trust them fully yet, but they are still your precious friends.” _

_ Friends…? I don’t have any friends… _

_ “You do,” she said softly, “and they care for your wellbeing. So, you shouldn’t worry them too much.” _

_ I stayed silent, eyeing her doubtfully. Even though I couldn’t remember anything from before this point, I felt uncertain about her words. Something just didn’t seem right. I didn’t believe that I had any friends, that I had anyone who cared about me… But, when she looked at me with those eyes that looked so soulful, so full of warmth and wisdom, I felt my disbelief ebb away slowly, as if I should, I  _ could _ , trust her words. I opened my mouth once more, feeling my voice finally escape, though sounding too high pitched, like I was just a child. _

_ “Who are you?” I asked, staring into her eyes. _

_ She remained silent for a moment before replying, her words soft and tenderhearted, “I am Arina. Now, go to sleep. It is time for you to go back to where you belong.” _

_ As she spoke, I felt my eyelids grow heavy, sleep taking me over rapidly. I wanted to stay awake, to ask her more questions but, before I could, my eyes closed, and I fell into a deep slumber. _

_ _

_ _

_ _

“…ye? Rye?”

I was, literally, shaken away rudely, falling off the bed I was laying on and landing gracelessly on the cold, hard floor below. I groaned, pain throbbing at my chin and nose, which both took the brunt of the fall. Pushing myself up, I looked around, noticing that I was back in the hotel, on the floor next to my bed. Christi tackled me back to the ground, a worried trill escaping her throat as she licked at my face.

I gingerly pushed the faeyr away, wiping at my face with the sleeve of my shirt as I sat up. I looked around, slightly confused and dazed, “What happened?”

“’What happened’?” Reina seethed, towering over me, a murderous glint in her eyes. “Did you seriously just have the gall to ask, ‘what  _ happened _ ’? You almost  _ died _ , that’s what!”

“Now, now,” Noran placated, holding their hands out calmly and gently pushing Reina back. “That’s a bit of an overstatement, don’t you think?”

“It’s not an overstatement! It’s the damn truth!” The redhead spat, anger radiating off her in waves.

I was confused, my brain catching up to what was happening. I remember talking to Sir Rennings, then going back to the group, and then…  _ Oh!  _ I remembered the feeling of nausea and blacking out when I got to the training area! But… I don’t remember anything after that. I felt as if I had a strange dream, but I couldn’t remember what it was… All I could recall was a strange name it left me: Arina. Who was Arina? Why do I feel like I’ve heard that name before?

A small tug to my sleeve caught my attention, and I looked down to see Vicki grabbing a hold of my sleeve, on her knees as she gave me a wobbly smile, tears streaming down her face, “Y-You’re awake…”

I blinked slowly and gave her a small smile, reaching out and patting her on the head, “Yeah… I’m awake. Sorry for worrying you.”

She shook her head, “Th-That’s alright. I’m just gl-ad you’re awake… That you’re al-live.” She whispered, lowering her head as more tears poured out.

I sat there awkwardly, not too sure of what to say or do. I wasn’t given a chance to respond, though, as I was harshly kicked in the side. I yelped and glared at the offender, seeing Terry giving me a harsh glare of his own.

“Stupid! Don’t worry us like that!” He yelled, tackling me in a hug, giving me serious whiplash.

“Oh, uh… I’m sorry?”

“You’d better be!” He sniffed, her voice cracking slightly.

Reina continued to shout at me, Vicki crying by my side, Noran doing their best to calm the red-head down, and Terry clinging onto me like a lifeline. I looked around and saw Niko standing not too far away, a grim expression on his face.

“I thought that it was unusual that your symptoms didn’t start sooner,” he mumbled, taking a few steps forward. “It seems that we don’t have as much time as we originally thought.”

“What? What do you mean?” Reina demanded, turning her attention from me to the dark-haired male.

Niko spared her a glance before looking back at me, his cold blue eyes examining me thoroughly. “The curse seems to have been amplified greatly, so that, while the symptoms will take a bit longer to show, they would double…”

“So, what does that mean?” Noran asked, eyeing the Moon Class male wearily.

He sighed through his nose deeply, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them. “It seems that our time to look for the items has decreased greatly. I believe we have three to four months at best until Rye succumbs to the curse.”

His words made the room’s temperature dip tremendously, everyone tensing up. So… my time went from around a year to only three or four months? Was that even possible? I felt dread seeping into my bones, biting my bottom lip as I trembled slightly. Everyone was silent, no one able to say anything to the sudden news. That was until Reina decided to speak up, glaring at the black-haired male with fierce determination.

“Then, we’ll just have to find them quicker!” She stated, slapping a hand over her chest, thrusting the other one to the side. “Starting tomorrow, we’ll go into that forest and look for the fruit; no more mucking around!”

Everyone nodded, and I just stared at them in awe. They were still willing to do this…?

Reina turned on her heels towards me, jabbing a finger in my face, “Don’t you  _ dare _ die on me, alright? We still have a lot to settle!”

I just nodded mutely, confused on what she meant. What did we have to settle…? Well, it didn’t matter. I smiled and felt a bit of hope spark in my chest; maybe, just maybe, we could do this, time limits be damned! Christi purred in agreement and I ruffled the fur on her head, my smile widening. I looked at the others and beamed:

“So, what time do we leave?”


	13. Chapter 13

We decided to leave at sunrise the next day, leaving us to get a good few hours of sleep to prepare for the journey ahead. This time, I was able to get enough rest to not feel like murdering everyone and instead woke up feeling jittery and nervous. Due to our newfound information on the curse inflicted on me, and since we had to move faster than we originally thought, I found myself feeling uncertain and slightly anxious about the whole ordeal. Though, I don’t think anyone could really blame me.

I actually woke up before everyone else, now just kind of sitting here waiting for them to get up. Christi woke up a few minutes after I did, stretching in a very cat-like way before sitting down and cleaning off her fur, wiping down the clumps and tangles. I sat and watched her, not really having anything else to do. It was another five minutes or so before Noran woke up, followed by Niko and then, finally, Terry. Terry grumbled as he sat up, brushing his hair from his shoulder and told us to go by ‘they/them’ today… Whoops?

It's hard to know what to call them until they tell you, really. We all took turns taking quick showers, Niko cooking us up something quickly, and then we were out. Reina and Vicki took around ten minutes before coming out of their room, meeting us at the front desk. Noran returned the keys and we all left, making small talk as we did so. I hung back with Christi and Niko, casually petting the faeyr as we made our way to the forest.

It was silent between the three of us before Niko spoke up, his voice quiet as to not draw too much attention, “How are you feeling?”

I blinked and glanced at him, surprised he was even the smallest bit of concerned about my wellbeing, “Oh, uh, good, I guess? About as good as I can be, I mean.”

He nodded stiffly, his eyebrows furrowing and lips thinning out, “I see.” And, with that, he sped up, leaving us behind.

I frowned, confused. “What was that all about?”

Christi shrugged, offering no help to the situation. I bit back a sigh and walked a bit faster as well, not wanting to be left behind. I had just caught up behind Noran as I heard them discuss our plans of action with the rest of the group.

“So, we know that the fruit is in the middle of the forest,” they murmured, rubbing their chin thoughtfully, “and we know that it’s orange overall in color, but that’s about it.”

“How hard could finding it be?” Reina asked, giving the brunette a casual shrug, “There can’t be that many fruits in the middle of the forest that’s orange.”

“S-Still, it’s better to be s-safe than so-orry.” Vicki murmured, playing with the hem of her shirt nervously.

Noran nodded solemnly, their face in a tight grimace. “Well, let’s hope that we can find it without too much issue.”

We all nodded and continued forward, soon finding ourselves standing in front of the forest’s entrance. I could feel the pressure suddenly slam back into me at full force, a nervous intake of breath and loud gulp coming from me. I glanced around to see that, while the others had their emotions schooled better, they still had cracks of uncertainty in their expressions. Reina glared at the forest as if it had personally offended her; Noran kept their expression neutral but their eyes flickered with nervousness; Niko looked as indifferent as usual; Terry eyed the forest in quiet curiosity; and Vicki shuffled on her feet anxiously, being the most nervous of the group.

“Well, it’s now or never,” Noran whispered and, with a determined nod and sharp glance at us, we all walked in, bracing ourselves for the journey ahead.

The first thing I noticed when the wildlife engulfed us was the temperature difference. I faintly remembered that I felt the same thing the first time I left the forest and entered the village, and I believe it was similar to how it was leaving the island… Just what is it with this world and not being able to decide on what temperature it wanted to be? The forest wasn’t much terribly cooler than the village, but it was noticeable enough and it definitely hit you with a rush of cool air with the first step into the forest.

I noticed Vicki shiver slightly and felt a tad bit bad; she was wearing a jacket, but it looked super thin and not enough to block out the gust of cold air the forest greeted you with. I almost wished I had a jacket, so I could give it to her, but I then imagined what it’d be like for her to be wearing two jackets, and… Let’s just say I had to bite my lip,  _ hard _ , to not laugh at the image my mind supplied. Apparently, my expression wasn’t put away quickly enough, and Niko sent me a questioning look, to which I just gave him a sheepish smile and shrug; he wouldn’t understand.

He gave me the stink eye but didn’t question it, instead turning away sharply. I really,  _ really  _ wanted to ask what his deal was, but getting into an argument right now probably wouldn’t be the best of decisions—not that I was known for making good decisions as it is already.

“Alright,” Noran began, turning around to face all of us, “first thing’s first: do  _ not  _ split up.” Reina opened her mouth, but they beat her to the punch, “I know that people say it will cover more ground faster and, while they’re right, it also means fewer means of protecting yourself if something happens. Over half of us are new students who didn’t have a week of experience, so we’d be dragging the others down if we decided to just go and do our own thing.”

The redhead looked peeved at the brunette’s words, but snapped her mouth shut, grumbling incoherently under her breath. Noran took that as, reluctant, acceptance and continued:

“Second, don’t just go and try to aggravate anything and everything you see,” they sent Reina a stern glare and she threw her hands up in exasperation.

“Why am I the only one being called out?” She huffed.

“Because you’re the most irrational person I’ve met and tend to not think before throwing yourself into dangerous situations,” Noran responded plainly, as if they were just talking about the weather.

Reina sputtered indignantly, who took a step forward to, presumably, sock Noran square in the jaw but was stopped by a soft pull to her sleeve. She glanced down to see Vicki staring up at her worriedly. They stared at each other for a moment before the ginger huffed, backing down, but growled at her friend.

Noran smiled, “Love you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she sighed, rolling her eyes, but the ends of her lips quirked up.

I watched the exchange with earnest interest, fascinated by their interactions. Was that how friends were supposed to be? I looked down at Christi and she glanced up at me, offering me another shrug.  _ You know, you’re really not being very helpful today. _ She purred in amusement in the back of my mind as Noran continued to list off their plan.

“Next,” they continued, holding up three fingers. “No distractions. We’re here for one thing and one thing only, so no sightseeing and no fighting monsters unless absolutely necessary.” They put down their hand and adjusted their weight, leaning on their right foot. “Finally, once we do get the fruit, we book it out of here. We only have so much time as it is, so any more time wasted here is time wasted for finding the other items.”

We all nodded, and I internally praised Noran for their quick thinking and strategizing. I sure as hell couldn’t pull something like that off in the little amount of time as they had. Noran gave us a small smile before turning back around and motioning for us to follow before we began to delve further into the forest. I could feel the tenseness in the air as we walked, everyone eerily silent aside from the crunching of leaves and grass under our feet. It went on like that for fifteen minutes, everyone staying as quiet as possible, and I felt myself slowly going mad.

I was never fond of silence, because it left me with my thoughts, and I never really liked my thoughts that much. I could feel myself getting more and more jittery as time went on, my thoughts going a hundred miles per hour, and I just couldn’t take it anymore, so I began to converse with Christi.  _ Why is everyone so quiet? _

_“I believe it is because they are nervous,” _the familiar replied, giving me a soft purr to soothe my slowly fraying nerves. _“It is the first major quest most of you have been on, and not to mention the fact that this one has someone’s life on the line, so they must be beyond themselves with anxiety and nerves.”_

I slowly blinked.  _ Huh… I didn’t think about that. _

Christi snorted, flicking her tail in amusement.  _ “I’m not surprised.” _

_ Are you making fun of me? _

_ “I would never.” _

I could feel a grin forming on my lips despite myself; man, this faeyr had quite the sassy streak.  _ Gee, thanks. _

_ “But of course.” _

We stayed silent for a moment, and I glanced around the group and forward before tilting my head to the side slightly, a contemplative hum rumbling in the back of my throat.  _ Hey, Christi? _

_ “Yes?” _

_ You were born here, right?  _ I asked her, glancing down at her, watching her tail move from side to side in slow, methodic movements.

She gave an affirmative trill.  _ “Indeed.” _

_ Then, couldn’t you just lead us to the fruit? _

Blue eyes glanced up at me before returning forward, a fluffy ear flicking.  _ “I suppose I could, but it has been a while since I’ve explored the forest, even before you came,”  _ she quickly added,  _ “so I am not sure if my memory would be the best, but I suppose it would not hurt.” _

I nodded and cleared my throat, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Hey, uh, does anyone actually know how to get to the middle of the forest?”

My question was met with silence. Everyone then turned their attention to Noran, whom we were following, who just gave us a small, sheepish smile in return. “Uh… I just assumed that we could just walk in a straight line until we stumbled upon it?”

Everyone was silent for a moment and I could feel laughter bubbling in the throat. I swallowed it down and coughed, trying to get rid of it. “I see… Well, why don’t we let Christi take the lead? She was born here, after all.”

“That’s a good idea,” Terry said, pushing their glasses up. “I’m surprised you thought of it.”

“Wow, thanks,” I replied dryly, earning a smirk from the blonde in return. Was everyone determined to be sassy with me today?

_ “Getting to the center of the forest is not as simple as going in a straight line from point A to point B,”  _ Christi chirruped,  _ “there are many traps and illusions set up so that no human would ever find themselves there.” _

_ Well, doesn’t that sound lovely.  _ “She, uh, said that getting to the center of the forest won’t be easy and that there’s lots of traps and stuff to keep humans from it.”

Noran let out a sigh, “I should have expected that…”

I patted their shoulder reassuringly.

“We don’t have much time,” Niko cut in, giving both of us a deadly stare.

Noran cleared their throat, “R-Right. Um, Christi, if you would?”

_ “It would be my pleasure,”  _ she purred, despite them not being able to understand her, as she padded in front of us and began to lead us.

As soon as she began to lead us, the tense atmosphere from before seemed to break, everyone relaxing and chatting animatedly. I was slightly taken aback at how quickly the situation seemed to flip, but I wasn’t about to complain; it was much more preferred than walking around in silence. So, I just fell in line with the others, somewhat listening to them as they spoke about one thing or another. Reina was chatting with Vicki and Noran, making gestures with her hands as she spoke, the other two nodding along.

Christi was at the front of the group, her thoughts more focused on remembering the path to take than trying to make any attempt at conversation. Niko and Terry seemed content with just walking in silence, neither of them speaking up to add to the conversation the others were having and instead Terry was looking around the forest, their eyes alight with mild curiosity while Niko looked impassive. I cocked my head to the side slightly, wondering what I should do.

I glanced at the trio in front of me, staring at them for a moment as they conversed before deciding that I wasn’t really in the mood to join in with whatever they were talking about.  _ Maybe I should try to get to know some of them better…  _ I thought to myself. My eyes traveled over to the two who were a bit alienated from the group. I already knew more the others more than I knew about those two… I mean, it’s not like I had a vast knowledge about them, but it was definitely more than I knew of those two.

Though, me being my socially inept self, I had no idea how to start a proper conversation. Talking about the weather didn’t seem like it’d really cut it this time around—not that talking about it helped much any of the other times I tried it. I glanced at Niko, my mind racing with thoughts.  _ He doesn’t seem to be up for conversation… Though, even if I were to try and force something out of him, I wouldn’t even know what to talk about, so there’s really no point in it.  _ I looked past him and to Terry, who quickly snatched a leaf from a weird plant before stuffing it in their pocket.

_ I could probably talk to them,  _ I hummed to myself,  _ they don’t seem to mind talking to me… Besides, I have a few questions I want to ask them.  _ With that thought in mind, I slowly made my way over to them, coming to a stop a few inches away from them. They glanced at me, raising an eyebrow in question. I gave them a small smile in return, steeling myself in preparation.

Taking in a deep breath, I opened my mouth, keeping my voice low and quiet, “So, Terry… I have a few questions.”

Terry hummed, snagging another leaf from a different plant we passed. “Sure, shoot.”

“Uh, I don’t mean to sound offensive, but… you said you change genders from time to time, right?” They nodded. “Why is that?” They glanced at me, and I quickly began to backtrack, “Oh, uh, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to! Sorry, I was just curious and—”

They snorted, stopping my small tangent, making me blush. “Dude, it’s fine. It’s hard to understand if you don’t experience it personally or haven’t lived with someone like that.” They placed a knuckle on their chin, tapping it lightly. “Well, I guess the easiest way to explain it would be I just feel like it. Sometimes I feel more masculine or feminine and want to be addressed as such, while there are times I don’t want to deal such tedious things and just want to forgo them altogether.”

I nodded, taking in their words. “That makes sense… So, do you always dress according to your preferred pronouns?”

They shook their head, “Do girls have to wear skirts and dresses to be female?” I shook my head. “Exactly. While those types of clothing are generally associated with girls, that doesn’t mean they have to wear them to be female. I don’t have to wear a dress to feel feminine; it’s just something I’d feel like wearing at that time. Hell, I might feel like a boy but still want to wear a dress just because I like how it looks. It all depends on the person, really.”

I slowly nodded once again, their reasoning making so much more sense. “Do you have a set ‘schedule’, for a lack of a better term, for when you feel like you want to be referred to as a certain gender or whatnot?”

“Not really,” Terry said plainly. “I kind of change sporadically, though that’s just me. Some people could feel like a girl in the beginning of the week then a boy near the end. Again, it all depends on the person; hell, someone could feel like they don’t care about gender in the morning then a boy or girl in the afternoon.”

“That sounds complicated,” I muttered, earning a snort from the shorter.

“It can be, especially if you don’t know the person very well to look for the signs.” They said, shaking their head. “But, that’s what makes humans so unique and interesting, doesn’t it?”

I couldn’t help but smile softly, nodding. “Yeah…”

“Anything else?” They asked, seeming unbothered by my barrage of what would usually be considered offensive questions.

I shook my head, “Nothing I can think of right now…”

“Well, since you’re done, it’s my turn,” they said, giving me a Cheshire-like grin, a pit of regret forming in my stomach. “So, what’s it like to have a familiar?”

I blinked dumbly, surprised by their question. That was it? “It was a bit weird at first, but…” I glanced at the faeyr, who jumped over a log, waiting for us to do the same. “You get used to it after a while. Besides, it’s nice to have someone you can lean on unconditionally.”

Terry hummed quietly, seeming to store that information in their mind for later. “I see… Well, going off that topic; what’s your opinion on everyone here?”

I stumbled slightly, tripping over the log as I jumped, Christi catching me as I fell. “Wh-What kind of question is that?”

They shrugged, unbothered by my shrill voice as they hopped over the brightly colored wood. “It’s just a question; I answered  _ so many  _ of your personal ones, after all.”

I groaned, promptly ignoring their mischievous grin. I waited for the others to be a bit further away before beginning my answer, “Fine. You’re a little demon.” They snickered, making me glare at them. “Vicki is really nice,” I continued, Terry nodding along. “Noran is kind of like a mother,” another snicker, “and Reina is a bit… overwhelming at times, but I don’t think she’s really all that bad.”

“What about Niko?” Terry prodded, not bothering to ask about Christi, as it was obvious that I thought of her fondly.

I frowned, “Well, I haven’t really talked to him all that much,” I glanced at the person in question, who was staring forward, expression as blank as ever, “and every time we have, it hasn’t really been the most pleasant of exchanges.”

They raised an eyebrow, “Get off on the wrong foot?”

“Something like that, I suppose.”

“Then, start over.” They said so easily I thought they were crazy.

“You do know first impressions are the most important?” I asked incredulously.

“And they’re not always one hundred percent accurate,” they retorted, glancing at me.

I frowned, unable to say anything to that, since they were right, but that didn’t make me any happier. They shook their head, seeming to catch onto my stubbornness.

“Well, get going, Mr. Stubborn.” They said, giving me a push in the black-haired male’s direction.

I fumbled, nearly slamming into him, giving the blonde a glare and earning a questioning one in return. Niko’s gaze pierced through me, making me immensely nervous and I gave him a shaky laugh, his expression not changing. I swallowed thickly, averting my gaze, faintly able to hear the little gremlin’s snickering from behind us.

“Uh, sorry about that,” I apologized, rubbing the back of my neck. “Terry kind of pushed me.”

“It’s fine,” he replied, his voice cold and curt.

I nodded slowly, sending Terry a pleading glance. They simply shrugged and grinned at me, the traitor. So, I sighed quietly, mind racing to find any topic of conversation to dispense the tense atmosphere around us. I was feeling suffocated by it.

“So, uh,” I began timidly, trying to find the right words to say what I meant. “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot.”

Niko sent me a short glance.  _ Well, at least he’s not telling me to go away, so that’s a start… I think. _

“Let’s start over?” I offered, forcing my nerves to stay out of my voice. I don’t know how well I managed it, though.

He actually looked at me for a moment, as if debating my offer, which only managed to make my nerves worse believe it or not. The silence between us was so palpable that I could probably cut through it with a knife, which was saying something. It didn’t help with my unease, but it was at least something to take my mind off of the situation at hand. After what seemed like years, he sighed, making my heart plummet.  _ I knew it, this was a bad idea, why would he want to try and get to know me, it’s not like I’m even worth anything— _

“Fine.” That single word made me stop in my tracks, my mind stilling as what he said struggled to catch up with me.

“What?”

He paused and turned around, looking at me like I was stupid. “What do you mean ‘what’? Weren’t you the one who suggested it?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d actually agree to it!” I shot back, slightly panicking.

Man, the look he gave me for that would be hysterical if I weren’t so busy freaking out. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I agree to it?”

“Because you made it pretty clear from our brief conversations from before that you hated me!”

“I don’t—” He began, pausing to think over his words. “Well, I still don’t necessarily like you, but I don’t hate you.”

_ Wow, okay, that hurt.  _ I internally winced.  _ At least he’s honest.  _ “Oh, um, okay then, just tell me how you really feel.”

He frowned, confused, the expression on him honestly quite cute. “I thought I just did?”

“It was just an expression,” I sighed.  _ So, he’s the kind of guy to take things literally. Okay then.  _ “Well, I suppose we’ll, uh, start over?” I reached out a hand for a handshake, giving the other a small smile, “I’m Rye Beckett, nice to meet you.”

Blue eyes examined me for a moment before a cool accepted mine, giving me a small shake. “Niko Rodriguez.”

I nodded, satisfied. “Cool. So, now we’re acquaintances.”

He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted when the ground shook violently, catching us all off guard. I turned my head to the front and my eyes widened when I saw a large squirrel-esque creature stop in front of us. It tilted its head, wide black eyes staring at us.

“A-Aw, it’s cute,” Vicki said, despite the squirrel being easily three times her size.

We all stood there in a staring contest, the fluffy grey giant staring at us, no one making a sound. It opened its mouth, sharp canines glistening with saliva as it let out an ear-piercing scream, making us all flinch.

“Run!” Noran screamed, all of us turning around and bolting away.

The squirrel shrieked once more before chasing after us, the ground shaking with each step it took. We all screamed, not having been prepared for such a situation.

_ What the hell even is this? _


	14. Chapter 14

We all continued to scream as the monster behind us chased us. Twigs and leaves cut at my face as I sprinted past the trees, trying my best to ignore the giant beast right on our heels.

“We need to distract it!” Terry shouted.

“How are we supposed to do that, genius? In case you can’t tell, we currently can’t stop unless we want to be shit out after lunch!” Reina snapped, jumping over a protruding root.

_“I could distract it temporarily.” _Christi offered, coming up to my side.

I nodded, my breaths coming in short and quick. “Y-Yeah, if you’d please!”

Christi nodded and stopped, turning around to face the squirrel thing. She growled and quickly grew to her original size, making the other beast stop in its tracks. We all stopped a few feet from the beasts, all eyes on the two as they stared each other down. Black eyes met blue and, after a moment, Christi howled, her howl echoing harshly throughout the forest, breaking trees in half and making us slap our hands over our ears.

The squirrel let out a shriek and lunged, mouth opened wide, saliva dripping from the open orifice. Christi yowled and jumped to the side, avoiding the attack before snapping her jaws down on the squirrel’s neck and flinging it back. It slammed through a few trees, swaying slightly in a daze. The faeyr charged, body glowing dimly as her speed increased dramatically, soon unable to be seen.

I watched in awe as she reappeared, slamming into the other beast, a sickening _crunch _coming from the other’s body as it tumbled to the ground, unmoving. I winced at the sound. Christi stared at the unmoving body for a moment before huffing and returning to her smaller size, walking back to us. We all gathered around her, nearly everyone shouting praises at her.

“That was so damn cool!” Reina cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

“How did you manage to do that?” Terry asked, seeming more intrigued by the faeyr’s abilities than the fact she took down the other beast.

“Th-That was amazing!” Vicki said, her eyes wide.

Noran nodded, seemingly speechless by the whole ordeal. Only Niko and I remained truly silent. While Niko did look mildly impressed, I was more worried than anything.

“Are you okay?” I asked her, gently petting her, looking her over. “Nothing hurt? Nothing broken?”

She purred quietly, rubbing her head against the palm of my hand. _“I’m alright.”_

I let out a sigh of relief before giving her a wavy smile, “That’s good… Thank you. Really.”

She mewled, giving me a rush of assurance, making me relax slightly. Though, our relief was short-lived as the ground shook once more and, instead of just one beast, a multitude popped out, showing themselves to be more of that monstrous bug I saw the first time I came here.

“What the hell!” Reina shouted, voicing my thoughts. “How are we supposed to get through _that_?”

“Here’s an option: we don’t and just _run_!” Noran screamed and we were all off once again.

“C-Couldn’t Christi t-take them down like she di-id with the other o-ne?” Vicki asked breathily.

“Even she’d have a hard time taking a horde like that.” Terry said to their sister, who looked guilty for even suggesting it.

So, with no better option, we ran, doing our best to avoid the maws of the creatures behind us. We all ran as fast as we could, the thundering of footsteps behind us deafening. I slowly passed Terry, who I noticed seemed to be slowing down. Without thinking about it, I scooped them up, ignoring their small yelp, and placed them on Christi’s back. She didn’t even bother glancing at the new added weight on her back, accepting my decision as she pressed onward.

We were driven off-path as we desperately ran for our lives.

“What should we do?” I yelled, hoping at least one of them had some sort of idea.

“We should look for a place to hide,” Terry said, glancing at me. “Like a small cave or something; a place they can’t get to.”

“So, look for a small cave? Got it.” Noran replied somewhat sarcastically. “Shouldn’t be that hard, considering we have giant bugs chasing after us.”

“Now’s not the time to be arguing!” I interrupted before Terry could retort. “Anyway, let’s at least try, okay?”

With that plan in mind, we all tried to glance around from time to time to find any place to hide from the monsters chasing after us. I could feel my legs and lungs burning, the adrenaline in my system not enough to keep them from wearing down slowly. I glanced around the group and I could see that they were looking roughly the same, sweat pouring down their face while exhaustion slowly set in.

_We won’t last much longer._

I desperately looked around, trying to find a place to hide. My eye caught something, and I quickly looked over at it, relief flooding through my veins.

“Guys! I found a place!” I shouted and veered towards it, the others quickly following my lead.

We all ran through the thicket I saw and immediately skidded to a halt, our eyes wide and confused at what we saw. Instead of the normal trees, bushes, and other wildlife associated with the forest, we were met with what looked to be a cavern and instead of the bright colors we were used to seeing, the place we found ourselves in was full of deep blues and blacks, yet still somehow illuminated brightly so that we could properly see everything in front of us.

I turned around and saw that the way we came in was gone, replaced with a dark blue wall.

“Where… are we?” Someone asked, and I remained silent, not really having an answer.

No one else spoke up to their question either, so it was safe to assume they didn’t know either.

“Well… at least we’re safe from those bugs.” A voice similar to Reina’s said nonchalantly.

I couldn’t help but agree; I’d rather be in an unfamiliar but _safe_ place than be chased in a somewhat familiar place by giant, man-eating monsters.

_“Do not let your guard down,” _Christi whispered to me, prodding over to me, _“we should always be on high alert, no matter the situation.”_

She was right, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. I groaned quietly, taking another look around. The path was straight forward, no side paths to choose from and nothing decorating the cavern’s interior.

“Let’s just get going,” I said, beginning to walk.

The others followed behind, everyone suddenly tense once more. We all knew to stay on our toes and look out for anything and everything, our eyes flickering around in search of possible threats. I glanced down at Christi, hoping she’d have any idea where we were. She caught my gaze and shook her head. I gnawed at my bottom lip and returned my gaze forward, a bad feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. Something about this just didn’t feel right.

The silence was deafening, the only sounds coming from our footsteps and breathing, which didn’t help my nerves at all. As we continued forward, I was so caught up in thought that I almost didn’t catch that the others’ footsteps were slowly coming to a stop until they weren’t able to be heard anymore.

I paused and turned around, confused, “Guys—?”

I was met with nothing; no one was here, not even Christi.

Panic rose in my throat and I hastily looked around. “Guys? Where are you?” I began to run back, hoping I’d just been walking a bit too fast or something.

After running for around a minute, I still didn’t see anyone. The panic I felt only grew rapidly, my heartbeat picking up the pace as well.

“Guys, where are you? This isn’t funny…!” I shouted, my voice echoing throughout the empty cavern.

_Where are they? _I thought to myself, my mind slowly becoming muddled with anxiety. _Did they leave because they thought I was too much of a burden? I mean, it’d make sense—we don’t even know each other. Why would they even want to help a stranger, especially if they don’t get anything from it. _I could tell I was slowly going into hysteria, but I couldn’t help it—my thoughts were straying from me and I couldn’t stop them.

I shook my head, shaking the thoughts from my head. _No, I shouldn’t be thinking like that right now. First things first; I’ve got to find _someone. I nodded to myself and set off once more, hoping to find the group.

I ran for what seemed like hours, the long hallway never ending, and I could tell I was slowly becoming insane. The walls never changed, there was never a diverge in the path, no one else was there to be seen… If I didn’t know better, I’d assume I was crazy to assume I even came here with anyone at all. My vision blurred, and my stomach lurched, forcing me to stop and heavily dry heave.

Nausea hit me at full force and I collapsed to my knees, my body swaying from the sudden onslaught of dizziness. I was confused as to why I suddenly felt so sick when I remembered: the curse. I grit my teeth, trembling as I slowly forced myself back upright, _why now…? It left me alone for so long…!_

I blinked rapidly in hopes to dispel the blurriness. _Maybe it was because I was panicking? _I thought numbly, my bones feeling equivalent to jelly at this point, but I refused to give in. _This damn thing sure has a flair for dramatic timing, huh… _I heaved again and then went into a coughing fit, my throat feeling raw and hoarse afterword.

I sucked in a deep breath to try and replace the air I lost in my lungs and toppled over to the wall, using it to keep myself upright. I decided to wait out as much of the sickness I was feeling so that I could keep searching for the group. It took roughly thirty-ish minutes, but I was able to stand without using the wall as leverage and my vision didn’t swim as heavily as before. It wasn’t much, but it was definitely better than nothing, so I trudge on, this time a bit more slowly but more determined than before.

After around another half hour, I was met with a fork in the path, two openings diverging the path before me. I groaned quietly, my mind slowly working to process everything; _there wasn’t a path like this before, was there? Did I really walk that far ahead? _With a sigh, I chose the left path, not having any rhyme or reason for it other than merely assuming it was, probably, the right way.

The cave abruptly darkened the moment I stepped foot in the path and, without warning, a bright light flashed, blinding me for a second. I blinked to clear my vision and was met with the sight of the group in front of me. I turned around and saw the passage was gone, a wall replacing it. I was rightly confused, but more relieved than anything; I wasn’t left on my own!

I ran up to them, practically throwing myself on Noran as we were both sent sprawling to the floor.

“Guys! You didn’t leave me!” I cried, crushing the brunette in a tight hug.

Noran gasped for air, looking at me in shock and confusion, “O-Of course not!” They pushed me off, swallowing in a mouthful of air before continuing, “anyway, where did you go?”

I blinked, “What?”

They looked at me, looking just as confused as I felt, “You just suddenly vanished into thin air! We were worried about you!”

“What are you talking about? You were the ones who disappeared!” I said, not really that angry; I was more flabbergasted than anything.

“Well, whatever happened, it’s good that you’re back.” Terry said, their tone telling us that they weren’t in the mood for a petty argument.

I nodded rapidly in agreement; I never wanted to feel that level of panic ever again, thank you very much. I glanced at the others to see Vicki looking at me worriedly, Niko looking as apathetic as ever, Christi practically panicking over me in my thoughts and Reina being surprisingly quiet. Her expression looked unnaturally thoughtful, and that was worrying.

“Reina?” At the mention of her name, the ginger flinched and looked away, her thoughtful expression turning neutral before turning into a frown, as per usual.

“What?” She snapped, turning back to glare at me.

I examined her face for a moment, wondering if I should press the issue or not. Deciding against it, I shook my head, “Nothing. Never mind.”

She raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. I was grateful for that because I wasn’t sure how I’d go about that conversation.

“We should get going,” Niko said, bringing our attention to him. He glanced at me, expression indecipherable. “It seems he made the curse worse with whatever dumb thing he managed to do.”

Everyone nodded and soon we were off again. I was placed on Christi’s back after Terry got off, despite my protests that I was fine now.

“We’re not risking having you collapse again,” Terry had told me, and that was the end of that conversation.

I sighed, wondering how my life got to this point. However, before I could really go in depth with that, I was struck with a thought.

_Hey, Christi?_

_“Yes?” _She answered, adjusting me on her back to make me more comfortable, now in her full size.

_Were you able to sense me when I disappeared? _I asked, slightly curious. I was too busy panicking at the moment to even try and contact her, so I was curious if she was able to hear all my thoughts and whatnot.

She stayed silent for a heartbeat before shaking her head, her voice remorseful, _“No, I was not… It was as if our connection had been cut off entirely. It was…” _She paused, eyes narrowing slightly, _“It was… deeply concerning. I had worried myself sick as to what happened to you and what were to happen as I was not there to protect you.”_

I could feel my heart warm and lighten at her words, a small smile playing on my lips. “I see… I’m sorry to have worried you.”

She shook her head, _“It’s fine. That is what I am here for. That is what… friends, are for.”_

That took me by surprise, my eyes widening and nearly choking on air. I coughed quietly, my smile widening just a tad, a light blush forming on my cheeks. “Yeah. Yeah, they are.”

The faeyr purred lovingly at me and we were left with a comfortable silence. I let my mind wander, which was just typical at this point; I really didn’t have anything better to do. I glanced at the group and thought of what just happened. It seems that I was the only one to “disappear” and none of the others were affected. My and Christi’s connection was cut off so that she couldn’t contact me and had no idea about my whereabouts. Despite the fact that I was separated from the group, it appears that I wasn’t really taken all too far away from them.

I frowned; the whole thing just seemed so weird. Why was I the only one taken away? Why bother taking me away at all if I was still going to be in the same place as the others? How come my connection with Christi was severed? What was the point in that? Well, that one was self-explanatory, but still. Nothing added up. If I assumed I was taken away because the person who afflicted me with the curse was, somehow, able to tell where I was or, God forbid, one of the ones here traveling with me, then why send me only about an hour’s walk away from the group?

Sure, since I panicked easily, it wouldn’t be hard to assume that I’d have a panic attack so bad that I wasn’t _able _to get back to the group for one reason or another, but why risk the chance? Wouldn’t it just be easier to transport me to a completely different place and leave me to die there? Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t _want _to die, but I was just thinking logically here. Christi gave me a prod in my mind, telling me I’d better not be wanting to die, and I huffed a laugh.

Was the person who did it only able to take me so far because of some sort of limitation? All in all, it was all too confusing and really didn’t seem worth the risk. I shook my head one final time, setting the issue aside; it was in the past and everything was fine now, and that’s all that mattered.

Soon, we all stopped and were met with a tree; but not just any tree, however. No, this tree was much larger than any tree we had previously come across, the trunk a pale blue while the leaves were a deep navy blue, beautiful in every sense of the word. I craned my neck upward, narrowing my eyes to try to see the top, to no avail; this tree was damn big.

“Oh, great,” I heard Reina mutter, glancing at her to see her giving the tree one of her deadliest glares yet. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“This seems to be a dead end,” Noran added, taking a look around the surrounding area.

“So, what? We have to turn around and go back?” Reina asked, clearly fed up.

“I’m afraid so—” The brunette began but was cut off by an excited gasp from Vicki.

“Look, in front of the big tree!” She exclaimed happily, pointing to what she was talking about.

We all followed her finger and were all equally surprised by what we saw; a tree, that look much more like a sapling than anything else, stood a few feet away from the much,  _ much  _ larger tree. Its bark was a milky white, the leaves a bright orange, both colors a stark contrast to everything around it. However, what caught our attention were the small pieces of fruit dangling off of it: a rounded bottom, spiky at the top, and barely the width of a fingertip…

“Hundle Tree fruit…” Terry whispered, green eyes wide with awe.

Reina seemed to break out of her stupor first as she rushed over and snagged a small handful of the fruit. She pulled out a small brown sack and poured the fruit in it before pulling the strings at the top, effectively closing it. Satisfied, she turned back to us, her face set in determination.

“Alright, one down, two more to go!” She cheered, the others following her lead as we all raced out of the cave.

I was beyond ecstatic; we had gotten the first item! Dizzy with excitement, I nearly missed a shadowy figure appear in the corner of my sight. I snapped my head to look at it, but all I was met with was nothing; nothing seemed out of place. I frowned, pursing my lips slightly, but, when the others cheerily announced that we were going to our next destination, I pushed the thought to the back of my mind.

_ Ah, whatever. It’s probably just my imagination. _


	15. Chapter 15

“Ugh, do we really have to ride on this thing?” Reina complained, frowning at the saddle the held in her hands to avoid looking at the “thing” she had mentioned.

“Sorry little lady, but if you want to get to Hast Island, then you gotta ride one of these lil’ fellas.” The man told her, patting the ‘fella’ in question.

I stared at them owlishly, not really sure what to make of them.

We had just gotten out of the cavern in the forest–which had taken _ages_, mind you–and now we were preparing to head for Hast Island with no rest time, as I had a small… incident, shall we say, during the time we tried to find our way back to the forest. My left arm had completely given way and was utterly useless at this point in time, presumably having fallen asleep thanks to the curse, which was quite the annoyance, thank you very much.

So, we had my arm slung up poorly and hastened our pace so that nothing worse could happen before we could get the rest of the ingredients for the cure. However, in order for us to got to Hast Island, which was known to be one of, if not the most, desolate island in all of Hallow, desert and dry lands as far as the eye could see, you had to travel atop something that could handle such harsh conditions.

The answer for that came in the form of a meenema, a weird camel-dolphin hybrid. It has the body of a camel along with the tail of a dolphin, the hump on its back also replaced with a fin. It doesn’t have any fur and its scales are rock solid, a dark blue hue in color; it is also able to swim through sand like water and has two sets of eyelids to protect their eyes from harsh sandstorms.

These meenema creatures weren’t the prettiest looking things, as a hairless camel was a weird sight to behold in any sense, but, when you get used to it, they weren’t too terribly ugly. However, Reina seemed to take some sort of offence towards them, staring at them as if they’d personally offended her and her family.

“Th-They’re so c-cute…” Vicki whispered, gently petting one in awe.

“Cute?” Reina repeated, nearly squealing in confusion, snapping her head towards the smaller female as if she’d suddenly grown another head.

“Don’t be rude, Ray,” Noran scolded, gently getting atop one of the meenema and looking down at her. “Come on, let’s get going.”

Everyone followed suit, Reina reluctantly so, and I found that sitting on these creatures felt weird. They felt solid yet soft at the same time; sturdy yet malleable. It was honestly one of the weirdest feelings I’d ever experienced.

“Alright. I’m not sure what you’re goin’ to Hast Island for, but good luck.” The man lending us the meenemas said before patting one of them on their hide, the animal then moving towards the water before the rest followed.

Reina was the first to enter the water, letting out a surprised yelp when her meenema practically dived into the water. Noran laughed as he soon followed, Vicki, Terry, Niko, and I following just after. Christi waited onshore until we all entered the water before turning into the size of a kitten and floating over to me before settling on my lap.

We set off, Reina quietly muttering under her breath what I could only assume to be complaints as I slowly passed her by. I ignored her and closed my eyes, breathing in the salty sea air and enjoying the soft winds brushing against my face. As I basked in the warmth of the sunlight, I felt someone staring at me.

I opened my eyes and looked around to see Niko staring at me, blue eyes staring at me silently. I’m not sure what he was trying to do, but, as moments turned to minutes and he remained as silent as ever, it  _ was  _ starting to get slightly uncomfortable.

“Um… Can I help you…?” I asked, voice wavering slightly.

He stared at me for a moment more before speaking, “What are you doing?”

I wanted to be sarcastic and reply with “riding a meenema in the sea going to Hast Island, and you”, but I stopped myself. I knew that that wasn’t what he was talking about; it was probably about when I was just sunbathing, which was still a bit weird to ask about but, hey, to each their own I suppose.

“Sunbathing.” I replied instead, watching his expression carefully.

“Sunbathing…?”

“Yeah. Can’t a guy enjoy the sun’s warmth every now and then?”

He furrowed his brow at me, giving me a look as if saying “why would you want to do that in the first place?” To answer his unasked question, I simply replied:

“Hey, everyone deserves to relax every once in a while. You should try it.”

Niko looked taken aback, as if he didn’t expect me to say that, stuttering, “Wh-What? Why would I-”

“C’mon, what’s the harm? Just close your eyes and let your other senses take over.” I urged, giving him a wide smile as he looked at me uncertainly.

After a while he gave in, closing his eyes slowly and letting out a low, deep breath. I watched as he slowly yet surely relaxed, the tenseness in his shoulders relaxing, his facial features lightening as well. I felt a smile pull at my lips as I closed my eyes and going back to sunbathing as well, feeling slightly proud to have gotten such an uptight guy like Niko to relax.

  
  


That was how most of our journey through the waters went. I talked with the others and got Niko to do things he most likely wouldn’t have done otherwise, such as a splash fight. Now  _ that  _ was a sight to behold, especially since everyone got super into it.

“Hey, we should have a water fight.” I suggested randomly one time, staring at the glistening water below me.

“A what now?” Terry questioned, glancing from their book-where did they even get that?-to me, eyebrow raised in confusion.

“A water fight.” I repeated, looking up and around at the others. “You know, like splashing water at each other?”

“Why would we do that?” Reina retorted, rolling her eyes. “We aren’t kids anymore.”

“Says the one who didn’t want to ride on a meenema because they didn’t like how they looked,” I mumbled to myself before speaking up, “well, there’s nothing else to do, so why not? We could make a game out of it.”

“G-Game?” Vicki spoke up, glancing at me, slight child-like interest in her eyes.

I stifled a smile, finding that expression quite adorable, since, despite her being a teen, she clearly still acted like a child from time to time.

“Yeah. Maybe something like when you splash someone you get one point and whoever has the most points at the end wins?”

Noran chuckled, glancing at the rest of us from behind them, amusement clear in their eyes. “You sound like a little kid… but, I suppose having something to do wouldn’t be too terribly bad.”

I flushed when they mentioned me acting like a kid, slightly embarrassed because I had just had the same thought about Vicki. Clearing my throat, I continued:

“Well, I suppose doing just that would be boring… How about whoever wins can make one demand from whoever they want?”

That seemed to catch everyone’s attention, all their heads snapping towards me.

“Sounds like fun…” Terry smirked, their green eyes flickering with mischief as they pondered their options.

“I’m  _ so  _ gonna win!” Reina shouted, bearing her signature grin.

I wanted to point out that she was originally the first person to make fun of my suggestion, implying that it was “childish”, but decided her complete one-eighty turn around was amusing enough to let it go.

“I-I want to pl-lay.” Vicki said shyly.

Even Noran and Niko seemed to silently imply they wanted to participate as well. I laughed and shrugged, raising an eyebrow at them all. “So? We all in?”

Everyone nodded and that’s when the fight began.

“Alright, I’ll explain the rules then: when you splash someone with water, you get one point. However, it has to hit them directly, not the meenema or an item on their person. This game will last until we reach Hast Island, where we will have Christi, who will be the referee in this competition, will tell us who won. Whoever won will be able to have one person do one command of their choice. Everyone got that? Alright, let’s go!”

Speaking of Christi, she seemed to have just woken up from a nap as I was explaining the rules, blinking blearily at everyone. I tend to forget about her when she’s so quiet like that since she’s not doing anything to grab my immediate attention… Sorry, Christi.

As soon as I finished, a splash of water hit me in the face. I coughed and wiped the water away, cringing at the taste of salt hitting my tongue at full force. I glared at the offender, surprised to see Niko staring back at me blankly, though his eyes showed a bit of smugness in them.

“Well, you never said I couldn’t hit you after you were finished, right?” He asked innocently, though his tone hinted at the same smugness in his eyes.

I grinned, “Oh, you’re on!”

With that, we all attacked each other at full force, splashing and avoiding getting hit at the same time. I had a slightly harder time, as one of my arms was out of commission, but I was about to let that stop me from having fun. We did that for hours, taking a break every now and then to regain our energy before someone hit someone else with a sudden attack, bringing it right back to life.

When we reached Hast Island, we were drenched and soaking wet, but all of us had satisfaction written all over our faces. Our meenemas climbed onto shore and Niko used some magic to dry us, though, judging by the sudden wave of heat and dry air hitting us, it probably wouldn’t have been all that necessary, though we thanked him anyway.

I coughed as sand flew into my mouth as I breath out, closing my eyes as another wave of sand in the air hit us. “Gah, how are we supposed to get through here? I doubt we’d be able to keep our eyes open for long enough to even see where we’re going.”

“Did you really think I came all the way here without some sort of plan?” Niko questioned, snapping his fingers and suddenly I was unable to feel the harsh waves of heated air rushing past us every other second. “We can use magic, remember?”

Ah, right. I’m honestly not sure how I forgot that.

Christi chuckled and bumped her forehead against my arm.  _ “I’ve determined the winner of your little ‘game’.” _

_ Oh, right. Who is it? _

_ “The winner is Niko.” _

I paused for a moment, letting what the faeyr said sink in.  _ I’m sorry, what? _

_ “Niko is the winner.”  _ She repeated, a bit slower this time, amusement clear in her tone.

_ Niko? Really?  _ It wasn’t that I doubted what Christi said, it was more along the lines of I was surprised that Niko, who seemed like such a stick in the mud, actually got so into the game that he  _ won _ .

“Well, guys, it seems Christi got the winner.” I spoke out, gathering their attention.

All their eyes were on me, expectant.

I smiled and shrugged helplessly, “It seems that Niko won out.”

Silence. Then, chaos.

“What? Niko? No way!”

“Well, I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting that…”

“Congratulations, Niko. You deserve it.”

“C-Congratulations!”

“...”

Niko seemed stunned, as if he wasn’t expecting to win, himself. I gave him a reassuring smile, patting his shoulder. “Congrats, dude!”

He nodded mutely.

“So, who’s your lucky target?”

Everyone around me stiffened, not wanting to be the person picked. I sighed inwardly; clearly each one of them had some sort of cruel punishment towards their intended victim if they won, so they were probably expecting the worst.

Niko remained silent for a moment before shaking his head, “I don’t have anything like that…”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and I gave him a small smile. “Hey, it’s fine. How about a rain check? You can hold onto it until you think of something.”

He gave another nod.

“Alright. Well, let’s get going, yeah?” I said, ignoring the way everyone stiffened once more at the thought of possibly doing some sort of punishment in the future.

I’m not sure if I should consider them paranoid or not.

We all then set off, still riding atop our meenemas, a little amount of small talk going on between Vicki and Terry, which I found slightly interesting, as hearing those two siblings-who couldn’t be any further apart in terms of personality-talk was quite the ride.

“Hey, Vicki, did you hear?” Terry started, flipping a page in their book as they casually scrolled down the next page with their eyes.

“H-Hear what?” She asked, glancing over at him, trying her best not to slip off the animal as she clung to it dearly.

“On this island, there a  _ things  _ that pop out at night.”

“Wh-at sort o-of thi-ings?”

Terry set their book down before looking up at her, an evil grin on their face, “ _ Ghosts of the people that died here. _ ”

Vicki screamed, clinging to the meenema as she stared at her sibling with tear-filled eyes. “No!”

“Oh yes! They come out and wail in agony about their slow, painful deaths about burning to death!”

“Stop i-it!”

I sat there quietly, watching their interaction in slight amusement-is this how siblings normally act?

Reina huffed, rolling her eyes at Terry’s story, “Nonsense. Ghosts don’t exist.”

I was inclined to agree with her, as I’m usually not the superstitious type. I looked around and saw that Niko didn’t show any sign of interest in the conversation, not that I was all too surprised at that. However, what did catch my attention was Noran: they sat quietly on their meenema, and, at first glance, didn’t seem to have even heard what just went on. But, if you look for long enough, you’d notice their body trembling slightly, their fists clenched tightly on the harness of their beast, face pale and expression tight.

So, I did what any friend would do:  _ tease them. _

“Noran, what’s wrong bud? You look like you just saw a ghost!”

They jumped, looking around in a panic before settling to glare at me when I couldn’t hold on my laughter.

“Ha ha, very funny.” They said dryly, pouting slightly.

I sucked in a deep breath, struggling to contain my laughter as I spoke, “I’m sorry, but… I never expected  _ you _ , the most level-headed of us all, to be scared of  _ ghosts _ .”

“I-I’m not scared of ghosts!” They retorted hotly.

“Sure, sure.”

During our interaction, Christi had grown stiff on my lap, hackles raised and fur bristling as her pupils thinned. I broke myself from my argument with Noran to look at her, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Christi? What’s wrong?”

_ “There’s something here.” _

I immediately went onguard at her words, snapping my head up and looking around. There was nothing but sand for miles, no sign of other life here besides us. However, the more I looked, the more unsettled I got; no matter how long we’ve moved, the scenery surrounding us never seemed to change. Now, I normally wouldn’t have been all too worried about that; after all, this island  _ was  _ known as the most desolate island in this world.

However, from what little information we got from Terry before setting off here, there should’ve been a sign of at least some sort of plant-life from how long we’ve been traveling. Terry said that plants on this island only grew near the center of the island, and the island wasn’t all too terribly big to begin with according to them, so in the past hour there should have been at least a cactus or two, even if they were miles apart.

But, no. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

A chill ran down my spine and the air seemed to suddenly decline at a rapid pace.

“What the-” I heard someone, probably Reina, say to the sudden change in temperature.

We all stopped, everyone looking around to see what in the world just happened. The sky had darkened, despite it still being in the early afternoon, and the meenema seemed unwilling to progress any farther.

“What’s going on?” I asked to no one in particular, just hoping that at least one of them had any sort of answer.

_ “They’re coming.” _

Before I could question who “they” were, I felt myself slip from the meenema and fall into a deep abyss.

“Rye!”

I wasn’t able to tell who called out to me before my conscious slipped from my grip and falling into a dreamless sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

_ “Young one, wake up.” _

A deep, calm voice echoed in my mind as I slowly blinked my eyes open, sluggishly regaining my consciousness. I slowly sat up, my bones feeling like jelly and a wave of nausea hitting me like a truck. I tried to swallow it down only to cough it back out, blood splaying over my hands and clothing messily, tears forming in my eyes from how harshly I’d coughed.

“Wh… Where am I…?” I asked, throat hoarse and voice weak.

_ “No need to fear, my child. You are among the ones you have come here to see.” _

I blinked a couple more times, my swimming vision slowly returning to normal so that I could properly see my surroundings. At first, all I saw was pitch black, making me panic slightly. However, after a few moments, three figures appeared before me. What I saw first were the eagle heads, golden, unblinking eyes staring down at me amidst the white feathers. Next came the golden-furred bodies of lions, their paws instead replaced with licorice black hooves.

The aura surrounding them seemed to give off so much wisdom that I felt unworthy to even be in their presence. Not only that, but they were  _ massive _ . They were easily bigger than most skyscrapers on Earth but how big exactly I wasn’t able to tell. I felt like an ant compared to them, and, to them, that probably wasn’t far from the truth.

_ “It seems you are suffering quite a bit, young one.”  _ One of them spoke, but which one exactly I didn’t know.

“I, uh…” I wasn’t sure how to respond so I just nodded meekly, cold sweat running down my back.

_ “No need to fear.”  _ They said, staring at me with their all-seeing eyes.  _ “We do not wish to harm you. I assume you’re aware of the so called ‘conditions’ of getting the item you came here to seek?” _

I nodded once more, unable to find my voice, though, with how messed up it sounded in the first place, probably wasn’t all too much of a bad thing at the moment. Though, something seemed strange about this whole interaction… Weren’t these creatures supposed to be temperamental or something?

As if able to read my thoughts, the, what I presume to be, gladites spoke once more,  _ “It seems that you humans have a few misconceptions about us.”  _ They spoke, words firm but not harsh.  _ “We are not hot-headed beings that do not see reason in others’ actions.” _

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment, even though it wasn’t really my thought for believing that because that’s not only what I was told but also because I have no information about this world! It wasn’t my fault, okay?

_ “However, we are as naive to hand over our assistance to those who are undeserving of it.”  _ They continued, staring at me with unbiased eyes.  _ “Tell me, child… Why should we help you?” _

“You shouldn’t.” … At least, that was my first thought to a response; I obviously didn’t say that out loud. They had no real reason to, and I wasn’t so conceited to believe they should just because I believed myself to be a decent enough person. I was, all in all, just a “normal” person. I wasn’t a saint, but I wouldn’t consider myself “evil”, either. So, I couldn’t give any response to their question-I  _ had  _ no response their question.

_ “It seems that you are losing more of yourself to that curse.” _

I startled upon hearing their voice cut through my thoughts. I looked up at them then back down at me, confused for a second as to what they meant and tried moving my body around to see what exactly they were talking about only to realize… My legs had stopped working. They, too, were numb, unable to be moved like my arms. At my sudden realization, my heart slammed against my ribs and blood spewed from my mouth, as well as my nostrils at how sudden it happened.

My vision began to swim and I was hastily losing a battle of consciousness. This curse was really plot convenient, huh? I coughed harshly and forced my gaze upwards, even if I couldn’t quite see a thing at this very moment.

“Uh, sorry about that…” I apologized first, since the sight of someone practically projectile vomiting blood would make  _ anyone  _ uncomfortable. I felt the red liquid dribble down the corners of my lips and my throat began to itch from the new bout of hoarseness. “To respond… to your question…” I squeezed my eyes shut and struggled to swallow in a vain attempt to ease the pain of speaking, forcing myself to continue. “I don’t believe… I’m worthy of your help…”

_ “Oh?”  _ My response seems to have piqued their interest; I could feel their eyes observe me curiously.  _ “Even as you lie there dying, you tell us you are unworthy of our assistance? And why is that?” _

Swallowing once more despite the severe lack of saliva-and the large intake of blood that tried to claw its way out-I spoke up, “Well… I’m just a normal human. I haven’t done anything… noteworthy to consider myself worthy of saving… I’m just one of the possible… hundreds of thousands of people you’ve come across… an insignificant life that merits no worth even if left alive…”

At my words, they stood silent, analyzing my point and possibly… No,  _ absolutely  _ deciding my fate. I hacked up a bit more blood, internally agonizing the pain my throat was in and battling the darkness that threatened to take a hold of me. Before I could completely faint, a light touch to my forehead got rid of the dizziness and fatigue I was feeling just moments before and I looked up to see the gladites staring at me softly, a tip of one of their tails gently touching my forehead.

_ “It seems that you underestimate yourself.”  _ They say, slowly pulling their tail away.  _ “It may be true that you humans are abundant in number, but that doesn’t mean a person is worth any more or less than someone else. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean you haven’t done things to help out more people than you might think. You must learn that you are worth more than you think.” _

I just sat there, staring at them with wide eyes because, really… what else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t really agree with them since I highly doubted their words, but I didn’t want to disagree with them because it’d make me seem like an asshole for saying that not everyone deserves a chance at life. So, I just sat there awkwardly, neither confirming or denying their words.

They seemed to understand my internal plight and just shook their heads slightly.  _ “We don’t expect you to understand now, but just know: you are worth more than you believe. We shall help you.” _

One of them blinked for the first time since I met them and a single tear fell down before crystallizing in midair and gently floating down onto my hand. It was a beautiful deep amethyst in color with hints of blue mixed in. I trembled slightly as I closed my fist around it, though whether it was from the knowledge of what the tear was for or the weakness the curse has given me I didn’t know.

_ “We have paused the circulation of the curse for just a moment… If you take too long, it will certainly return, and much harsher than before.”  _ They said.  _ “Now, go. Your friends are waiting for you.” _

Before I could respond, I was suddenly thrust out of the darkness and bolted up from the ground I found myself lying on, sucking in breath as if I had been underwater this whole time.

“Rye!”

I looked around, coughing from inhaling too much air too fast, and saw everyone had gathered around me, eyes filled with concern and worry.

_ “Rye!”  _ Christi’s voice wavered with emotion as she tackled me back to the ground, her rough tongue scratching against my cheek.

“H-Hey,” I wheezed, the air from my lungs successfully knocked out of me.

“It seems that quite a few things happened while you were gone,” Niko said calmly, though in the depths of his nonchalant deep blue eyes was a slight hint of concern. Why though? I mean, even if we’d been getting along slightly better since we set off, it’s not like we were  _ that  _ close… Well, that was kind of an asshole way of thinking; wouldn’t anyone be concerned if they saw a person slowly dying in front of them,  _ especially  _ if they were tasked with saving them?

I might need to change my way of thinking after this.

“Yeah,” I said instead, showing them the tear. “I got the tear, but that came at the price of… losing the ability to use both of my legs?” I don’t know why I phrased it as a question, but from the expressions everyone else had, it certainly didn’t seem to help with anything.

“Arina fucking-” Reina hissed, running her hand down her face.

“Well, we have everything now-Christi was kind enough to give us a molten feather while you were away.” Noran said and, despite their attempt, their voice trembled slightly.

We all nodded and, with the help of Noran and Niko, I was placed on the meenama Niko was riding, as I couldn’t really ride my own in my current condition without the fear of rolling off, and we set off back to the class houses. Of course, I felt a slight prickling at my heart, but didn’t, no,  _ couldn’t _ acknowledge it. I’m not sure, but I felt that, if I did, something bad would have happened.

The prickling continued and I felt a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over me. My eyes drooped and felt myself leaning forward slightly. Well, whatever-I could afford to sleep for a minute or two, right? I closed my eyes and let the empty void of darkness take over me.


	17. Chapter 17

“...ye. Rye. Rye! Wake up!”

I startled awake, gracelessly flopping down on the ground from whatever elevated position I was in. I struggled to sit up, as only one of my arms were in working condition, and had to get help from someone behind me. I mumbled out a quick thanks to whoever it was before glaring at Reina, who had just woken me up from my nap.

“Excuse me, what in the everloving  _ fuck  _ was that for?”

She rolled her eyes, flipping her ginger hair from her shoulder behind her. “I was just making sure you weren’t dead-If you die, I swear to Arina I’ll kill you!”

As much as I wanted to tell her that her ending sentence was highly contradictory of itself, I was more interested in who this “Arina” person was. I’ve heard that name before, as people around here like to throw it around like they do with “God” on Earth, so I assumed it was their “God”, of sorts. However, I felt like there was something more about that name… Like I had personally met her before. But, that was stupid; no mortal, no matter  _ what  _ world they’re in, would be able to see a  _ God _ all willy-nilly.

So, I just gave up trying to remember why that name felt a bit more personal to me and said, “Couldn’t you have done it a bit, oh, I don’t know,  _ nicer _ ?”

She grinned, mischief clear in her emerald eyes. “What’s the fun in that?”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t quite disagree; it  _ was  _ fun to mess with others… Though, in my case, it was like messing with a cripple. Was that insensitive of me to think? Probably.

“Alright, now that everyone’s awake, let’s get going.” Noran said, God bless them for being the clear-headed leader of the group.

I was about to ask how exactly I was supposed to move only to have myself cut off before being able to actually say anything and instead screaming like a little girl when I was picked up like a sack of potatoes. Niko looked down at me with an eyebrow raised as he carried me in his arms like a princess and I could feel my face heat up at not only the amusement in his deep blue eyes but the quiet snickering coming from everyone else behind me.

“If anyone says I screamed like a little girl just now, just know that they’re a damned liar and I don’t appreciate such slander.” I insisted, pouting when they all laughed me off.

“Sure, sure, almighty Rye, the manliest man to ever man.” Reina teased, snickering behind her hand as she laid the most sarcasm-dripped sentence I’d ever heard in my entire life.

Wow, thanks, Reina. Is that my pride I feel corroding a little?

Everyone else laughed and I’m pretty sure my face couldn’t get any redder if I tried. When they were done, we all walked off and I took that opportunity to look around. It seems that, during my “nap”, we arrived back on Raisier Island. Why they didn’t wake me up a bit before arriving I didn’t know, but since I felt refreshed from that long sleep, I wasn’t too terribly upset about it.

I felt a tug at my sleeve and I looked down to see Christi looking up at me with worry,  _ “Are you truly alright?” _

I glanced at Niko, who wasn’t paying attention to me at the moment, before giving Christi a small smile.  _ Yeah. Well, I could be better, but I can’t complain too much. _

Christi flicked an ear and I just realized that her once pure white fur was now covered in mud and dirt, once sleek and smooth now clotted and messy. I looked around at everyone else and saw that every single one of them were dirty and covered in mud and dirt. Glancing at myself, I was no exception, but I wasn’t as dirty as everyone else. From what I remember, we all were slightly dirty when at Hast Island, but not to this degree. What in the world happened?

_ Hey, Christi? _

_ “Yes?” _

_ What happened while I was- _

“There they are!”

“Get them!”

Before I could finish my sentence, shouting from nearby cut me off and threw everyone off. We all looked at each other, extremely confused as to what was going on.

“What the hell?” Reina eloquently worded, but I had to agree with her.

“Run!” Noran said and we all ran.

Niko whispered something under his breath and everyone began to glow slightly before our speed increased greatly. Reina summoned a sword and placed herself up front, swiftly and effectively cutting off branches and brush that would have hindered us otherwise. A sinking feeling appeared in my gut and I felt a tinge of helplessness as I was physically incapable of helping the others out thanks to the curse effectively getting rid of a third of my limbs.

I hated it-the feeling of uselessness at being unable to help out the ones who risked their lives just to save mine. I could see the slight strain in Niko’s face at keeping up the spell to increase our speed while also carrying me, especially since I’m sure I wasn’t light in the slightest.

“Found ‘em!” Someone behind us shouted and, before we knew it, arrows flew at us.

Niko sidestepped before an arrow could hit his arm, missing my a hair’s width. Reina turned around and cut another few in half, glaring at the offenders and calling them quite colorful names that I dare not repeat. Vicki and Terry were riding atop Christi, both of them sending projectile magic at our attackers.

“Fireball!” Vicki shouted, summoning a decently-sized fireball and sending it backwards.

“Arrow protection.” Terry whispered and we were all covered in a dim white light.

I watched as an arrow hit Noran’s back only to be harmlessly bounced off, thanking whatever Gods there were here that such protection magic existed. Before long our attackers also sent magic back at out, which made everything even worse than before. Not only did we have to avoid arrows, since Terry’s magic could only do so much, but we had to avoid plant life trying to trip us up or kill us all together.

Niko hopped over a vine lashing out to trip him and stumbled somewhat when he landed, almost dropping me in the process. I honestly wouldn’t have cared at this point-I was only a hindrance right now. My life wasn’t worth theirs.

“Just drop me.” I whispered, not wanting to catch anyone else’s attention.

“What?” Niko snapped, though his voice was just as quiet as mine.

“Drop me,” I hissed. “I’m only a bother at this point-it’s better to let go of things weighing you down, right?”

Niko glared at me, making me snap my mouth closed; I’d never seen his eyes so cold.

“Do be stupid. We came all this way; we’re not giving up now.”

At that, he sped up, catching me and everyone else off guard. However, the others quickly snapped out of it and followed his lead, everyone racing to the houses. We burst through the forest and into the clearing that the buildings stood in. There, standing in wait, was Madam White, Jess, Sir Harp and, lastly, Madam Heart. Upon seeing us, Jess and Madam White smiled at us while Sir Harp shrugged and massaged his shoulders, though he seemed pleased to see us.

The only person who seemed unhappy was Madam Heart; she looked at us and seemed shocked only for that expression to turn into rage before schooling it into a neutral expression.

“H-Help!” Vicki wheezed, sweating rolling off of her as she nearly completely exhausted her energy from using so much magic at once.

Whoever was following us soon came into light and were swiftly captured in thin white nets, slamming harshly onto the ground.

Madam White calmly walked over to us, patting Vicki on the head and whispering “good job” to everyone before addressing the group behind us. Niko finally turned around to let me see who they were and I wasn’t all too surprised to see what seemed like bandits on the ground in nets most likely created by magic.

“It seems that we have some unwelcome visitors.” She said calmly, staring at the bandits with a calm gaze. “Might I ask why you were chasing our students and attempting to kill them?”

“Heh,” one of the laughed, rolling his eyes. “I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’.”

Madam White stayed silent for a moment before sighing. “I see… That’s unfortunate… I suppose I’ll have to use force if you refuse to talk.”

“What-” He was cut off when one of his arms suddenly snapped and twisted in a grotesque way that arms definitely weren’t made to go.

Vicki quickly turned around and hurled, avoiding eye contact with the scene after that and even Noran and Reina seemed uneasy at the sudden situation. Terry watched the event with wide, interested eyes and, from my current position, I couldn’t exactly tell how Niko was feeling but he hadn’t looked away yet so I didn’t say anything. As for me… Sure, it was gross, but I’d seen way worse, so I was alright.

The other bandits, who had just seen what happened to one of their buds, quickly gave up and pleaded to not have the same thing happen to them.

Madam White smiled pleasantly, like she didn’t just ruin a guy’s arm mere seconds before. “Now, that’s better. Isn’t it nicer if we all get along?”

Wow, she was scary. Mental note: never piss Madam White off. Was she even mad? I don’t think so, but still.

“I-It was that chick! She hired us to kill the boy being carried!” One of the screamed, pointing at someone behind us.

We all turned around to see that he was pointing at Madam Heart.

She looked at the banadit as if she couldn’t believe what he just said before turning to Madam White, “He’s clearly lying! Why would I, a teacher for these students, want one of them  _ dead _ ?”

Madam White stayed silent for a moment before snapping her fingers, a cage made of pure white capturing Madam Heart.

“What the- Madam White, what are you doing?”

Said person only smile politely, gently pressing her finger near one of her eyes. “Have you forgotten, Madam Heart? I am able to see through others lies. Even then, in such a situation, why would that gentleman lie now? He would clearly be in a disadvantageous situation if that were the case.”

“What proof do you have? I’ve done nothing wrong!” Madam Heart screamed, her face turning beet red.

At her words, what seemed light white lightning hit her, cutting off her rampage and causing her to let out an ear-piercing scream.

“Now, now, why not discuss this after healing this young man?” Madam White said as she took the small bag of items from Noran.

“This…” Madam Heart heaved, glaring at us from behind her cage. “Don’t think this is over!”

A sudden beam of darkness erupted from where she stood and the cage broke into small pieces before disappearing into nothing. We all stood there, watching in awe as the black lightning jutted and wrapped around the dark beam of black light before slowly dispersing and what remained was quite the sight.

No longer stood Madam Heart, but a beast with oily black skin, thick muscles protruding from the ripped cloth and a thick black mane wrapped around where the neck should have been. If I had to describe it properly, its appearance would probably resemble a minotaur the most, though with some physically differences.

Instead of the usual thick legs you’d expect, they were thin, like the hind leg of a dog, the bend of it highly exaggerated and only the thighs were furry, the rest just tight black skin. The top half of the body was also beefed up and, because of that, resulted in the beast having to slouch forward. Its arms were also just muscle and it had no horns from what I could see. It also had hair atop its head connecting to the mane and was the same deep shade of black.

All in all, I wasn’t so sure how it was supporting itself with those thin, tiny legs but, hey. Who was I to judge?

_ “ _ ** _You._ ** _ ”  _ The previous human seethed, her voice now deep and gritty, hurting my ears slightly to listen to.  _ “ _ ** _If only you weren’t alive… If only you hadn’t come here at all!_ ** _ ” _

She charged forward and reared her arm back to slam it into us. Her speed caught us off guard and we were too late to move anywhere. I closed my eyes and prepared for the impact onto the hear her fist slam into something, but didn’t feel anything. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw a white barrier protecting us.

Shocked, I looked over to see Madam White holding out her hands, a dim white light emitting from her palms and a strained look on her face as she smiled at us, “Oh my… It seems that she has fallen.” She turned to the other teachers, “Jess, do you mind evacuating the students? Harry and I shall hold her off for now.”

“Right-o!” Jess saluted with a wide grin and rushed off.

“Why me…” Sir Harp grumbled and shrugged, rummaging through his pocket and pulling out a bottle cap.

He flicked it up with his thumb and, before it landed back on his hand, flicked it with his thumb again and the cap sped to previously Madam Heart at the speed of light, only leaving a trail of white light behind. Once it hit the newly formed beast, it left a dent in its reinforced skin, making it cry out in, what I presume, pain. It turned towards him and snarled. Sir Harp just shrugged, giving it a wry smile.

“Just doin’ my job here. No hard feelings.”

In the blink of an eye, multiple more bottle cap projectiles hit the beast, making it stumble backwards. Niko took the hint and rushed behind Madam White with the others.

_ “ _ ** _You idiots! That boy must die! He holds the power… the power to restore Him!_ ** _ ” _

Both teachers flinched at the mention of “Him”. Who was “Him”?

“I see… It seems that I failed to see that one we presumed to be one of our own was one of His followers.” Madam White whispered quietly.

No, seriously, who is “Him”?

_ “ _ ** _Of course! Only He can bring salvation to this pathetic world! During my time here, I was able to secure all of the necessary items to bring Him back! All I was missing was one thing… And that resides in that boy!_ ** _ ”  _ The beast continued, turning its beady black eyes towards me.  _ “ _ ** _Of course, I could have just brought him there alive… However, it’s because of him…! Because of him, He has lost sight of his goals! No, I must kill him… To bring My Lord back on track!_ ** _ ” _

Wait, what? Why am I a part of something I never asked to be? Thanks but no thanks.

“I see… So he is much more precious than I’d previously thought.” Madam White said, giving me a small smile. “Pardon me, Rye. I have underestimated your abilities.”

No, really, don’t apologize to me. Not only because I have no idea what you’re talking about, but also because what you’re talking about spells Trouble with a capital T so I’d rather not. Can’t I just be a normal person passing through?

“Well, thank you for telling us his importance.” Madam White continued, ignoring my internal pleading. “We’ll thoroughly interrogate you later, alright?”

As soon as she finished speaking, white chains shot through the ground and wrapped themselves around the beast, trapping it where it stood.

_ “ _ ** _Fools! You think you can-_ ** _ ”  _ The beast tried to rip the chains off but was stopped by a powerful shock.  _ “ _ ** _What the? You! Were you not showing your full power before?_ ** _ ” _

Honestly, I was feeling second-hand embarrassment for previous Madam Heart. She was spouting such cliched lines that even I felt like digging a hole and confining myself for the rest of my life.

Madam Heart only smiled before waving her hands, resulting in the beast disappearing from our sight. We all stood there in silence only for it to be interrupted by a light cough. We all turned out head to Madam White, who was covering her mouth with her hand.

She smiled at us and waved us off with her other hand, “Pardon me. It seems that I inhaled some dirt during this rebuttal.”

Did she seriously take all of this as a discussion gone wrong? Everyone else turned away, seemingly appeased with her explanation, but, just for a moment, I was sure I saw a bit of red on her hand once she removed it from her mouth. She looked down at me and gave me her signature calming smile so I decided against saying anything about it; I probably saw wrong, anyway.

“Well, it seems that, one way or another, you all got home safe and sound.” Madam White said, looking at our group of dirty and tired teens. “I suppose it’s time to make the medicine, is it not?” 

Taking out the small bag Noran gave her before-where was she even keeping that?-she gave it a small shake and the bag glowed dimly before returning to normal. She opened the bag and pulled out a small pill; she examined it for a moment before nodding and handing it to me. I took it cautiously, giving her an uncertain glance. She simply smiled and nodded, prompting me to take it.

Well, it’s now or never. I took in a deep breath and tossed the pill into my mouth and swallowing it. We all stood there in silence for a few heartbeats before a sudden rush of energy ran through me and my insides seemed to burn. I wasn’t sure if it was the pain or shock, but it all happened so fast that I wasn’t able to keep up with it. My arm and legs felt a harsh shock and I moved them reflectively because of it and my insides seemed to lighten as well.

It ended just as fast as it happened. I pushed myself out of Niko’s grasp and tumbled to the ground gracefully-if anyone says differently they’re a goddamn liar. Everyone just stared at me as I awkwardly got back up, looking around at them and giving them a sheepish smile.

“Uh… Surprise?”

At that, Vicki and Reina tackled me from either side, practically sobbing into my shirt. Look, guys, I might not be as dirty as you, but I’m pretty sure that my shirt still probably wouldn’t be the best thing to rub your face into.

“Congrats,” Terry said, giving me a small smile.

I gave one back and Noran patted me on the back, also offering me their congratulations.

Niko was the only one who remained silent. I looked over at him and he stared at me silently, no expression on his face. I opened my mouth to talk to him only to be cut off by a small tap to my shoulder. I turned around to see Madam White looking at me, her smile polite but I could feel an underlying of worry in her eyes.

“Rye, might I have a word with you?”


	18. Chapter 18

After calming Reina and Vicki down, the former vehemently denying that she was crying because that she was concerned about me, I followed Madam White behind the buildings and stood there in awkward silence as she stared at me for a few minutes. Was I in trouble? From what I could understand from what that beast said, it was most likely my fault that whoever “He” was had gotten loose.

I glanced up from the ground and Madam White gave me a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble.” 

Despite her saying that, I didn’t relax any.

She remained silent for another moment before continuing, “It seems that the other students weren’t able to understand what Madam Heart said.”

That got my attention. I looked up at her, mouth agape, “What?”

She smiled slightly at me, “As I thought, you understood what she said, didn’t you?” All I could do was nod. “The language she was speaking has been unused for hundreds of thousands of years… Only a select few are about to understand it, those usually being us teachers here for the Classes, as it’s a requirement for us. However, how you are about to understand it…”

“I swear I don’t know how!” I cut her off, my anxiety levels rising through the roof.

She chuckled, “I believe you. I believe it has to do with your connection to Him.”

“Who’s ‘Him’?” I asked after a moment.

Her smile faded minutely as she shook her head, “Unfortunately, I cannot tell you… However, I’m sure that, in time, you will understand.”

I wanted to tell her that that doesn’t solve any of my problems and that I wanted to know  _ now _ , but the apologetic look on her face kept my lips sealed. So, instead, I just nodded; that all I could do.

“Well, do not worry. We shall protect you.” She continued, patting my head softly. “Now, why not go back to your friends? They seemed worried about you.”

I nodded again and ran off, not sure how to feel about everything. However, once I saw the relieved faces of those I’d gone through this journey with, I couldn’t help but smile back. They ganged up on me and asked me questions, like why did Madam White call me back, what were we talking about, etcetera. During their bombardment of questions, I felt a slight tug on my sleeve. I turned around and saw Niko looking at me with his usual blank expression.

We both stayed silent for a moment before he spoke, his voice quiet, “Hey, um… Do you remember the game we played on our way to Hast Island?”

I tilt my head to the side, “The water game? Yeah, why?”

He bit his bottom lip and seemed to having an internal crisis. “Do you remember my prize…?”

“To have someone do one thing of your choice?”

At my words, the others stopped talking, holding their breath. Seems like they remembered, too.

“Yeah… And when you said…?”

“That you could do it later? Yep, I remember. Why? Got an idea now?”

He nodded and the others seemed to stop breathing all together. Guys, it’s not that serious, come on.

“Alright! Then, lay it on us.” I encouraged, giving him a small smile.

He nodded quietly and frowned to himself as he practically glared at the ground. Wow, buddy, what’d the dirt do to you? He nodded again, this time most likely to himself, and looked back up at me and, though his expression was as blank as usual, his eyes seemed to hold an intense determination.

“On our next day off… I want you to go shopping with me.”

Everyone stood there in stunned silence. Also, me being me, I took a moment longer to process what he said. I pointed at myself dumbly, asking, “Me?”

He nodded and everyone around us burst into laughter.

“Having to be Count Gloom’s personal shopping bag! Good luck, dude!” Reina snorted as she threw an arm over my shoulder.

Everyone else gave me their condolences while I, myself, stared at Niko for a moment. He hastily turned away and hurried back to the Moon Class building. I frowned, wondering what that was all about. It felt like those words meant more than how they appeared to be, but I was probably overthinking it. Christi seemed to catch that line of thought and shook her head, which only confused me more. What did I do?

As I was practically dragged back to the Star Class building after saying our goodbyes to Terry and Vicki as well as promising to hang out with them later, the prickling feeling in my heart returned. It disappeared after a few seconds, so I paid it no mind as we entered our assigned building.

I suppose I should prepare for my shopping trip with Niko, huh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to leave any questions down in the comments below


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